How I became pro: Sam Sunderland The 2017 Dakar Rally winner on his unconventional rise to the top, competing against legends, and overcoming adversity along the way. SCC ue aero eee ee CUR edna ee eee aot See tn ea eR a Re crc Ee Ry Pe ee eee Re se mudguard and exhaust straightaway. All Christmas I was sat there fuming, just so upset that'd wrecked my new bike.” What can you learn from the pros? Find out how Red Bull athletes trein, fuel and think, here. Deere dete eee ie eee RcOe RL ne ay CC Le a oe ce Me CR uroa cs includes a Dakar Rally title and a Cross-Country Rallies World Championship among its, Sete eee ee PT Atty Many aspiring motorsports stars inherit their passion for speed from their parents, but in Sam's case his family had no real background in riding. Perm Resa oe ee Rae ed oe ke eee area close to where | lived in the south of England, but it wasn't so easy because my Deno aa eee LL naceCCS et RR eR CMs eect rede CU Re RR RR a ea Can looks back on those days with a crystal-clear appreciation of the lengths his parents went COE Ee CU Rain SOS Le ae Cu Rei hea eu acd De ee Re ne ea oe the country. Fuel bills, ferries, hotels; everything adds up. They were there at the start to ng Pee eee on eGR aCe Damo eur Peete Asliding doors moment rea) nts ents en RCo AC Ree Roe a Cie an ese ee MS ea ae Coe genes Tere Pe CO ee en cane eae a Ce Ru Ra UR eee CU tee ee eure a injuries that put paid to any racing for a very long period of time.“1 didn’t actually fall off, but the impact of landing broke both my ankles, my ti fibula in both my legs, fractured my knees and my pelvis." Se ue eR oe sitting his GCSEs — and was off the bike all together for an entire year. The impact of the A Cae “(had kind of given up the dream, in a sense. It was just when | was in my prime and was eee ee Re Rete Re ge ee cee De ee It was a lot for a 16-year-old to deal with. Sam turned away from racing and started a lift engineering apprenticeship, riding “not much at all, just for a bit of fun every now and ea oa The dream of making it asa pro rider seemed well and truly over, but the truth was that ee anc Right place, right time ‘At 19, with his apprenticeship recently completed and a new job, Sam went on holiday to Dubai to visit his aunt and uncle, Nikki and Paul. It was on this break that he re: his passion for riding, when his uncle and cousins took him out desert riding for the first cr | ene Ua i Rn ee Reem a neat ay the confines of the track. That first day I went into the desert | couldn't believe it, you could just go wherever you wanted. That feeling still sticks with me now. I love that eeeC ee ered Caen cee Ren uae ea Ce Co Dee RE Sachs Ru ee cay Seen eee Re “They asked if I'd be interested in coming out and riding the motocross season in the Baja, while working in the shop. I'd not long passed my lift engineer apprenticeship and had been given my own van and my own responsibilities at work; I'd made a big step in that Pen a eee Re Ree me DCS cue ua Re eRe a Net Ea ‘what Sam was contemplating. Sam‘s mind was made up though, and he moved out Pence Sis ‘Championship followed, and Sam sensed a big opportunity was cor the Baja MX championship and a good showing in the Desert Racing i) CCL CC ee aa aC Creare] Sete et ecco Sam's first pro ride ‘As luck would have it, the first round of the World Rally Championship was the Abu Dhabi Peete en Rey ea Ea Ri Re ae To call ita pivotal moment in his career would not be overstating what happened. Sam Rs Sa eee eee pa Pee ae eee ee eee didn't really have a big head about it, 'd just enjoyed the experience, he explainsDee Ue ae Re eRe Oe turning up on a bog standard stock bike, and they beat the likes of Dakar legend Mare Coma. "[My phone] started going off the day after the race. Teams started contacting me; ee er ene tee Sam took up an offer to head to Australia to race the Australasian Safari - “| couldn't believe it. They were going to give me some money to go and race. | jumped at it!" - and after surviving a collision with a kangaroo at high speed on the first day, he won two Sree ee ren Cee ee rere? ‘An offer to ride the Dakar came next and, on New Year's Day 2012 at the age of 22, Sam Cee ee ee ee nee ee eo Honda team, he still had to find substantial funding and was helped by a sponsor in Dubai. Dn ee ee eee nc’ ended his participation. After the results, effort and financing he'd worked so hard for to get there, Sam admits he felt despondent and swore to himself he wouldn't go back Soe ee oe eet ag With the results he'd posted, and his continued displays, the offer of a factory ride didn't eI On aS ee eee ecu g een pro contract, winning a stage.RTO Bie ee Sam's trajectory continued on a sharp upward curve. In 2015 he was signed to the Red Ce Ce ee i ea him. “I was really lucky when | signed to have Marc Coma as a team-mate. He'd won four Dakars at that point and six world championships. I'd annoy him so much because | was always asking questions and I'd just copy him. Everything he did, I'd do the samey" says om SC ee a ee Ra ee aS Ce oe cc ee all the rest of it put together... and he had all the rest of it" CS te eee ee rer es PTET sa wr Cle: ltl ag Asstage win in his first Dakar in KTM colours in 2015, followed by a win at the Morocco Rally towards the end of the year, meant Sam felt he was in the best shape yet for a tit at the biggest prize in rally, the Dakar.See oR ee es eC ee cay Ded An CRE Ree ie Rie od Cre "I tried so hard to come back from the femur, after the bad surgery I'd had, but I couldn't ee ee ec ue a ann ca Rd ee gee eo “You can either whimper down or fight back in those tough moments. It just put so much ee ee i es ee La CaS oe ea COR eaten re PERM tira Ca ‘That Dakar win is, unsurprisingly, up there as a career highlight for Sam, and another massive career highlight was his 2019 Cross-Country Rallies World Championship. “When you win Dakar, you're not a world champion, you're a Dakar winner. | wanted to tick that box, to be able to say I'm world champion. It's much less media and attention CO CA cee aC oe ec aSam's journey to the very top of the most demanding of sports has been incredible. It has ‘demanded much of him physically and mentally. Staying at the top of the sport has meant doing a lot of work off the bike, too. SE ee Rete Oa oe ened searching for new ways to get better. I'm trying to get better every day and understand SO a ee Throughout my career, I've worked more and more on the philosophy side of things. I've realised that that is how I tick: by finding ways to add value to my wins. “I believe that you add value to stuff by going through hardships. Nothing you are given has much value. Sure, it's nice to receive presents or a gift or something, but | want to work to earn whatever | get. Otherwise, it doesn't really mean much to me. BRN er ee eee ee om a cet Raa eg