Once again racing over a punishing, 8000 kilometre off-road route through Peru, Argentina and Chile, competitors on Bikes, Quads, Cars and Trucks will have until the 20th January to traverse the three continents from Lima, capital city of Peru to Santiago, capital of Chile.
Four times winner Cryil Despres will once again be competing on his KTM 450 Rally Bike. If he crosses the line in first again, this will be the 12th consecutive win for a KTM bike. However, Honda will be returning to Dakar after a 23 year break, so it will be interesting to see how well its new bike debuts.
One four wheels, the Dakar Mini Countryman (driven by Stephane Peterhansel and Jean Paul Cottret) dominated the stages but will face new competition from the likes of the RaBe Range Rover Desert Warrior Evoque and rally legend Carlos Sainz competing in a custom made Qatar Red Bull Rally Buggy
The Argentineans and Yamaha completely dominated the Quad class, with Alejandro Patronelli winning almost every stage that brother Marcos didn't win. However, for 2013, only Marcos will be competing in 2013 so expect another whitewash from him this year!
For the Trucks, last year's winner Gerard de Rooy will be competing again in a 900 horespower Iveco Trakker, but will be facing competition from drivers in Renault, Mercedes, MAN, Tatra, MAZ, DAF and more.
We'll keep you posted once we find hear of some results!
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