Another year, another Dakar Rally. This year’s event, in its 35th running, will start form the Argentinean city of Rosario on January 5, and will end in Valparaiso, Chili on January 18 after thirteen stages of competition. Dakar 2014 riders will make a pass into Bolivia and through Uyuni, marking the first time the rally goes to Bolivia.
Although it features one stage less, the Dakar Rally 2014 is around 800 kilometers longer in distance (9374 km) compared to the 2013 edition, and it has five special stages that have been completely separated, with motorcycles and quad bikes on one hand and cars and trucks on the other.
Last year’s rally saw Stephane Peterhansel further strengthen his legendary status by clinching a record eleventh victory on an X-Raid MINI All4; the Frenchman and co-pilot Jean Paul Cotrette are eyeing a twelfth victory on the same car this year, but are faced with a long list of rivals, including 2011 winner Nasser Al-Attiyah who’s also driving an X-Raid MINI. Giniel De Villiers, Carlos Sainz and Robby Gordon are just some of the names among 149 competitors in the cars category.
Frenchman and 2013 winner Cyril Despres has moved from KTM to Yamaha for 2014 in a bid to equal Stephane Peterhansel’s motorcycle category record of six titles, while former teammate and arch-rival Marc Coma returns to the action with KTM after missing last year’s event due to an injured left shoulder; he seeks a fourth Dakar victory. Other riders to look out for are 2013 runner-up Ruben Faria and Francisco Lopez. The motorcycle class will the busiest with 173 competitors.
In the truck category, Eduard Nikolaev’s maiden victory last year re-captured the title for Kamaz after losing to Iveco’s Gérard de Rooy in 2012. The Russian is back this year and is after a second consecutive win; his task might’ve gotten easier after Vladimir Chagin’s retirement in 2011, but in Dakar nothing is easy. Nikolaev and de Rooy will be facing 68 others in the trucks class.
Among 39 other participants, Marcos Patronelli is set to fight for glory in the Quad category this year without his brother Alejandro; the rider won twice in 2013 and 2010, while Alejandro triumphed in 2011 and 2012.
The Dakar Rally never fails to excite, it is a true test of man and machine and we have no doubt that the 2014 edition of the event will deliver some memorable moments, records broken and new champions crowned.
You can check the full list of drivers/riders and itinerary details on Dakar’s official website.