The Dakar in Argentina

As the condor (rather than the crow) flies, almost 5,000 kilometres separate Mar del Plata from Lima. In 2012, the Dakar will be staging a pan-American adventure of more than 9,000 kilometres in total. Unlike previous year’s loops, the route will transport the rally from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean to those of the Pacific, enabling its competitors to discover new lands and another aspect of South America. The scale of this challenge has also led to a change in the race’s format, which will include 14 days of racing in 2012. Constantly guided by the Andes Mountain range, the drivers and riders will be crossing the Atacama, and will experience in particular the diversity of the dunes as they head into Peru.

The competitors will be getting to the heart of the sporting matter on 1st January, after the starting ceremony at Mar del Plata. Used to journeying through Argentina, the riders, drivers and crews will this time be making a bee-line for the Andes Mountains. Only a few familiar landscapes as well as some first-rate sections, including dunes and canyons, have been selected for the Argentine part of the programme in 2012.