World champ Daniel Sanders has battled home heroically to finish the Dakar Rally with a broken collarbone and breastbone -- and reckoned his pain was eased by being able to hand over his motorbike crown to his teammate Luciano Benavides.
Argentine Benavides earned the narrowest victory in the great race's history on an incredible final Saturday, cashing in on a navigation blunder by American Ricky Brabec minutes from the finish to win by just two seconds after nearly 49 hours of racing over two gruelling weeks.
Australian 'Chucky' Sanders had looked sure to successfully defend his title on his factory Red Bull KTM until he crashed in the Saudi Arabian dunes on Wednesday.
