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News > Sport

Racers Roar Across Peru as 2018 Dakar Rally Kicks Off

  • For its 40th anniversary, Dakar celebrates its South American series by traveling from Peru to Bolivia to Argentina.

    For its 40th anniversary, Dakar celebrates its South American series by traveling from Peru to Bolivia to Argentina. | Photo: Reuters

Published 6 January 2018
Opinion

The 337 competitors will attempt to complete the race over 14 separate stages and across three countries.

With a screech of tires and a storm of dust, drivers from around the world come roaring into Peru as the first of the 2018 Dakar Rally kicks off the two-week international racing event.

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With an expected spectator draw of over 150,000, Lima opens its doors to welcome some of the most talented racers about to compete in the what’s considered the toughest off-road race car rally in the world.

The 337 competitors will attempt to complete the race over 14 separate stages, speeding across three countries, navigating deserts and lagoons from Jan.6 to January 20.

For its 40th anniversary, Dakar celebrates its South American series by traveling from Peru to Bolivia to Argentina, testing candidates to their limits and sending drivers from one extreme altitude to the next.

"Once again, I can see the days we spend at high altitude being the key to this race. We have four or five days at extreme altitude, and this is never easy to manage," said 13-time winner Stephane Peterhansel said.

The almost four hundred drivers will peruse the 10,000 km track, competing in 5 categories and traveling across Lima, Ica, Arequipa and Puno before continuing on to Bolivia and finally Argentina where racers will cross the finish line in Cordoba.

Around 90 percent of spectator turnout will be Peruvian the Peruvian Minister of Foreign Commerce and Tourism, Eduardo Ferreyros, said with tourists from Chile, Brazil and France making up the final 10 percent.

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