Sam Sunderland stages epic comeback at Desafio Ruta 40

Sam Sunderland is fired up as he gets a second chance at a career do-over in Argentina after a short break.

After his Sonora Rally crash back in April, Sam Sunderland is back in the game with the test to survive the challenging Desafio Ruta 40.

Safe to say that the Briton has bounced back from a gruesome injury to an impressive result for his first day back on track. The comeback saw Sunderland finishing the race with the 11th fastest time. His stellar performance put Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing in the limelight after a long day in the saddle.

Initially, Sunderland trailed behind the stage winner for just over six minutes. However, an unfortunate seven-minute time penalty saw him relegated from 6th to 11th place.

Next on the schedule for the two-time Dakar world champion is a daunting sandy 339-kilometre special.

The stellar stage one has boosted the Sunderland’s confidence. Nevertheless, the rider asserts he will be taking things slow for now and not get too ahead of himself.

“That’s the first stage done here at the Ruta 40. The stage went through a riverbed early on and with the low sun, it made vision quite difficult. It took me a bit of time to get going really which is normal as I’ve been off for so long and I’m just gonna take this race day by day.

“I’m here to get some racing kilometres under my belt and that’s what I did. Results-wise it’s not where I want to be. We have a long way to go and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”