100% Peru for 2019 Dakar Rally
After making a return to the Dakar Rally route in 2018, Peru is set to host the entire rally event in 2019.
Running from January 6-17, registrations open on May 21 for the 41st edition of the world’s toughest motorcycle race.
Celebrating its 10thanniversary in South America, the 2019 Dakar will start and finishing in the Peruvian capital of Lima.
The sand dunes of Peru featured heavily in the outcome of the 2018 event won by Matthias Walkner. The dunes in the Ica and Tanaka regions took out several big names including Sam Sunderland, Nani Roma and Sebastien Loeb in 2018.
Dakar 2019 key points:
- Edition 41 of the Dakar will be contested from January 6th to 17th 2019, on a giant loop rally-route entirely in Peru with the start and finish in Lima.
- Mapped around the Peruvian deserts, the 2019 Dakar promises to be one of the sandiest in the history of the rally.
- Variety of terrain will include high altitude mountain ranges.
- Registrations begins on May 21st on dakar.com
The ten-stage rally-route of the 2019 edition will provide every competitor the opportunity work on their endurance in the sand and organisers promise “each stage will be harder than the previous” until the final days.
The 2019 route promises to be “predominantly sandy” as you’d expect from Peru, with much of the riding on open terrain which is set to feature “every imaginable navigation subtlety” they say.
New for 2019 will be a Semi-Marathon category, or rather opportunity. Competitors who go out in the first week will have the chance to return to the race in week two, after the rest day.