Just a reminder that there is some motorsport on in the world at this time of year, and the Mighty Dakar rally runs this year (for the 40th time) from the 6th - 20th January.
The badnews is that there is no Robby Gordon this year, but we have the usual top liners such as Loeb, Sainz, Mikka Hirvonen, Despres and of course Tim and Tom Coronel, racing this year in the 'car' category rather than the buggy of recent years.
A rundown of the categories and what makes them tick.
Full list of competitors in all the categories available on https://www.dakar.com/en/competitors
Of course as well as cars and buggies there are also bikes, ATV's and the mighty trucks.
This year the route will start in Peru and finish in Argentina via Bolivia,starting in Lima and ending in Cordoba.
STAGE 1 LIMA / PISCO"After skimming the waters of the Pacific and a sand-packed start to the race, competitors will tackle an Andean trilogy with a different flavour.
"The Bolivian section of the rally will tackle multiple sides of Lake Titicaca, followed by a rest day in La Paz and a rather different trek through the Altiplano.
"The in-line course will let the 2018 Dakar come into its own in the third part of the rally, where the vast and varied terrain of Argentina will set the scene for the race.
"Many competitors already see Cordoba as the daunting peak they need to crown.
STAGE 2 PISCO / PISCO
STAGE 3 PISCO / SAN JUAN DE MARCONA
STAGE 4 SAN JUAN DE MARCONA / SAN JUAN DE MARCONA
STAGE 5 SAN JUAN DE MARCONA / AREQUIPA
STAGE 6 AREQUIPA / LA PAZ
REST LA PAZ
STAGE 7 LA PAZ / UYUNI
STAGE 8 UYUNI / TUPIZA
STAGE 9 TUPIZA / SALTA
STAGE 10 SALTA / BELÉN
STAGE 11 BELÉN / FIAMBALÁ / CHILECITO
STAGE 12 FIAMBALÁ / CHILECITO / SAN JUAN
STAGE 13 SAN JUAN / CÓRDOBA
STAGE 14 CÓRDOBA / CÓRDOBA
A brief video history of 40 years of Dakar:
You can also download/read the full History of the Dakar here: http://netstorage.lequipe.fr/ASO/motorS ... ractif.pdf
Hopefully there is some interest in this great event.
