Passion and pace have been in abundance during the opening stages of Desafío Ruta 40 on Argentina’s western frontier. Rally-raiders have been pushed high into the Andes Mountains after delving into desert dunes, cheered on by legions of fans at every turn. With three stages done and two days of racing remaining, it’s time to inspect the state of play at this year’s Desafío Ruta 40 – Round 3 of the World Rally-Raid Championship.
It the Ultimate class it’s tight at the top between two Toyota Gazoo Racing crews with race leader Henk Lategan less than two minutes in front of team-mate Seth Quintero. Lategan has put himself in pole position over the opening 1,000 kilometres of racing in Argentina as he bids to repeat his Round 3 victory in his native South Africa last season.
« It was a really complete stage, a serious rally-raid stage. We had sandy, twisty track, horrible dunes that were really tricky to navigate and then it opened up into really a fast section. It was crazy to go from desert dunes up to the ice and snow in the mountains all on one stage. » – Henk Lategan
23-year-old Quintero is chasing his maiden Ultimate class win in the W2RC. The American driver, who is also racing the ARA National Championship this year, called on his team-mate Lategan for a spare part to keep up his push at Desafío Ruta 40.
« We broke a damper at kilometre 50. We did 120km in the dunes with a broken damper and that wasn’t easy. At the transfer we got the new damper off Henk and put it on my car. Then I just turned it on for the last 200km. » – Seth Quintero
Also behind the wheel of a Hilux this week is Argentina’s Kevin Benavides. The two-time Dakar bike race winner picked up a stunning podium result on Stage 2 before finding it tough going on the dunes of El Nihuil during Stage 3. Kevin will dust himself down for tomorrow’s return leg from San Rafael to San Juan, with the local fanbase giving him tremendous support along the route.
« Before the dunes the rear damper broke. So we had to drive with that issue for the first 180km of the stage. It was very bumpy in the car and I hit my head a lot. We finished the stage as best we could, but lost over an hour. We’ll be back in the fight tomorrow. » – Kevin Benavides
While Lategan and Quintero fight for Desafío Ruta 40 top spot, it’s two Dacia drivers locked in a battle for number one status in the overall W2RC rankings. Sébastien Loeb arrived in Argentina with a seven-point championship lead over Nasser Al-Attiyah. As we pass the midway point of Round 3 the gap has tightened to four points and it’s all to play for on the final two stages in Argentina.
« It was a good day for us, finishing P4 after opening the longest stage of the rally. It wasn’t easy on the dunes. We’ll have a good road position for tomorrow and we can push. » – Nasser Al-Attiyah
The third Dacia Sandrider, driven by defending W2RC champion Lucas Moraes, retired from Stage 3 after the rear suspension was damaged during a collision with João Ferreira on the dunes.
« We turned around in dunes, thinking that we were on the right path. Suddenly João’s Toyota came and we hit each other. I want to apologise because it was a big impact and I’m glad everybody is OK. It’s a tough day, but we’ll be back tomorrow to fight for the stage win. » – Lucas Moraes
Determined to chase down the Toyotas and Dacias on the final two days of racing are the remaining pair of Ford Raptor crews. Nani Roma and Mitch Guthrie Jr. are sixth and seventh respectively in the overall Desafío Ruta 40 Ultimate class rankings after Stage 3.
« We got a speeding penalty and a few little things that added up to a lot. Overall, I felt like we had good pace so I was a little surprised when I saw our times at the end. » – Mitch Guthrie Jr.
The third Ford Raptor of Carlos Sainz was forced to retire from today’s San Rafael loop stage due to a broken belt.
« Tough luck today. A broken belt forced us out of the stage. Now it’s time to analyse with the team what happened and keep learning ahead of Dakar. Tomorrow we’ll be back out there to continue working together with Dani. » – Carlos Sainz
It’s 14-time Dakar winner Stéphane Peterhansel who is top of the pile in the Stock class. The Frenchman was enjoying the scenic ride in his Defender as Stage 3 switched from desert dunes to mountain landscapes. Peterhansel has an advantage of four minutes over his Defender team-mate Rokas Baciuška with 48 hours to go in Argentina.
« It was the longest stage of Desafío Ruta 40 and the most beautiful of the rally so far, but also complicated. We did 85 percent of the stage with only three-wheel drive because we damaged a part. We lost a little bit of time, but not too much. » – Stéphane Peterhansel
Former Dakar bike race winner Matthias Walkner enjoyed his best result of the rally so far, second fastest in the Challenger class on Stage 3. Walkner is accelerating his education on four wheels behind the wheel of a Taurus T3 Max and finished just 39 seconds away from winning today’s stage. The Austrian driver is up to second overall in the Challenger rankings.
« We had to stop in the dunes for a flat tyre and we changed it pretty quick, but then we only had one spare tyre until the refuelling. Then we got caught up in a train full of dust. We tried to push hard and kept up our fight for the Top 3, maybe the win. » – Matthias Walkner
It’s been a faultless ride through the picturesque landscapes of San Juan and Mendoza so far for Daniel ‘Chucky’ Sanders. The defending FIM World Rally-Raid Championship title holder has won the first three stages at this Desafío Ruta 40. Wrapping up another overall win would make it six W2RC victories from the previous eight rounds, but the Australian is keeping his cool for two more days onboard his KTM 450 Rally in South America.
« I’d never seen ice on dunes before so that was pretty cool. In the mountains the bike lost power and it felt like I was riding a little 125cc. We’ll try and win tomorrow’s stage as well and then Stage 5 is going to be tough in open desert. » – Daniel Sanders
Chucky’s Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team-mate Luciano Benavides has enjoyed the support of his home crowd over every single kilometre. Luciano is racing in Argentina for the first time since his Dakar Rally victory. Not only are Luciano and Chucky battling each other for Desafío Ruta 40 glory, but also the outright lead of the current W2RC campaign.
« This was one of the nicest stages I’ve done in my life. The dunes were full of spectators and it was crazy to race there. I’m up to third overall and determined to keep pushing. » – Luciano Benavides
Edgar Canet is also representing Red Bull KTM Factory Racing as the 21-year-old rides his debut season in the RallyGP class. The Spaniard sits 7th overall after three stages in Argentina, just 15 minutes off the podium positions.
« This was a long and tough stage, 400km with 60km of dunes at the start. Once I found my rhythm I did a good job. It’s a great feeling to be racing here in Argentina in front of so many people. » – Edgar Canet
There’s over 500 kilometres against the clock to go and still plenty of time for this edition of Desafío Ruta 40 to put a twist in the tail. Tomorrow’s Stage 4 will take the convoy high up into the Andes Mountains before returning them to San Juan. Then comes the fifth and final stage on Friday, a treacherous loop reaching out into open desert from the San Juan bivouac. Only on Friday will we find out who will be cheered onto the top spot of the podium by the huge crowds coming out in Argentina to enjoy Round 3 of the World Rally-Raid Championship.
Desafío Ruta 40 Stage 3 results
ULTIMATE – Top 5
1. H. LATEGAN (RSA) – TOYOTA 04:14:34
2. S. LOEB (FRA) – DACIA +01:36
3. S. QUINTERO (USA) – TOYOTA +04:23
4. N. AL-ATTIYAH (QAT) – DACIA +05:15
5. N. ROMA (ESP) – FORD +07:12
STOCK – Top 3
1. S. PRICE (USA) – DEFENDER 04:58:41
2. S. PETERHANSEL (FRA) – DEFENDER +04:29
3. R. BACIUSKA (LTU) – DEFENDER +09:02
CHALLENGER – Top 3
1. P. KLAASSEN (RSA) – KTM X-BOW 04:52:05
2. M. WALKNER (AUT) – TAURUS +00:39
3. A. PINTO (POR) – TAURUS +03:04
BIKE RallyGP – Top 5
1. D. SANDERS (AUS) – KTM 04:16:55
2. L. BENAVIDES (ARG) – KTM +00:58
3. T. SCHAREINA (ESP) – HONDA +02:37
4. S. HOWES (USA) – HONDA +05:20
5. R. BRABEC (USA) – HONDA +06:39
Desafío Ruta 40 standings after Stage 3
ULTIMATE – Top 5
1. H. LATEGAN (RSA) – TOYOTA 09:39:59
2. S. QUINTERO (USA) – TOYOTA +01:39
3. N. AL-ATTIYAH (QAT) – DACIA +05:28
4. S. VARIAWA (RSA) – TOYOTA +07:42
5. S. LOEB (FRA) – DACIA +08:09
STOCK – Top 3
1. S. PETERHANSEL (FRA) – DEFENDER 11:05:48
2. S. PRICE (USA) – DEFENDER +00:40
3. R. BACIUSKA (LTU) – DEFENDER +04:01
CHALLENGER – Top 3
1. A. PINTO (POR) – TAURUS 10:33:17
2. M. WALKNER (AUT) – TAURUS +04:35
3. P. KLAASSEN (RSA) – KTM X-BOW +11:05
BIKE RallyGP – Top 5
1. D. SANDERS (AUS) – KTM 09:37:06
2. T. SCHAREINA (ESP) – HONDA +13:38
3. L. BENAVIDES (ARG) – KTM +15:58
4. R. BRABEC (USA) – HONDA +19:14
5. S. HOWES (USA) – HONDA +21:04
QUOTES
Henk Lategan: « It was a really complete stage, a serious rally-raid stage. We had sandy, twisty track, horrible dunes that were really tricky to navigate and then it opened up into really a fast section. It was crazy to go from desert dunes up to the ice and snow in the mountains all on one stage. It felt good to get a clean day and the car was amazing. »
Seth Quintero: « We ended up getting a puncture about kilometre 15 and also broke a damper at kilometre 50. We did 120km in the dunes with a broken damper and that wasn’t easy. At the transfer we got the new damper off Henk and put it on my car. Then I just turned it on for the last 200km. I knew we had to make up time somehow. We finished the day in P1 and P2 so that’s great for the team. »
Kevin Benavides: « Unfortunately today we had to suffer. Before the dunes the rear damper broke. So we had to drive with that issue for the first 180km of the stage. It was very bumpy in the car and I hit my head a lot. I was able to borrow a spare rear damper from Seth, but his Hilux is different to ours so it wasn’t a perfect fit. We finished the stage as best we could, but lost over an hour. It wasn’t as good a day as yesterday, but we finished the stage and we’ll be back in the fight tomorrow. »
Nasser Al-Attiyah: « We opened all day today and we did a good job, just one mistake which cost us two minutes. I would say that overall it was a good day for us finishing P4 after opening the longest stage of the rally. It wasn’t easy on the dunes. We’ll have a good road position for tomorrow and we can push. »
Sébastien Loeb: « It was a good day with no problems in the stage. I was maybe a bit too careful in the stones, but I didn’t want to get any more punctures. In the rest of the stage I tried to push quite hard and the feeling was good. »
Lucas Moraes: « It was not the day that we wanted at Ruta 40 for sure. On the first section of dunes we were off-piste for five or six kilometres. We managed to follow the cap, a little bit to the left but we managed to find the waypoint. Then we turned around in dunes, thinking that we were on the right path. Suddenly João’s Toyota came and we hit each other. I want to apologise because it was a big impact and I’m glad everybody is OK. It’s a tough day, but we’ll be back tomorrow to fight for the stage win. »
Nani Roma: « It was a tough stage, but also really nice. We had altitude, dunes, camel grass… everything! I’m not 100 percent happy with how it went. I got stuck in the dust of two cars in front and I also expected to be faster in the dunes. »
Mitch Guthrie Jr. : « We had a flat and also a navigation error. It all seemed pretty minor, but then we got to the finish line and saw our time. We also got a speeding penalty and a few little things that added up to a lot. Overall, I felt like we had good pace so I was a little surprised when I saw our times at the end. »
Carlos Sainz: « Tough luck today. A broken belt forced us out of the stage. Now it’s time to analyse with the team what happened and keep learning ahead of Dakar. Tomorrow we’ll be back out there to continue working together with Dani. »
Stéphane Peterhansel: « It was the longest stage of Desafío Ruta 40 and the most beautiful of the rally so far. The open spaces on the second part reminded me of racing in Mongolia. Then we finished in the mountains and we could see wild animals. So a really beautiful stage, but also complicated. We did 85 percent of the stage with only three-wheel drive because we damaged a part. We lost a little bit of time, but not too much. »
Rokas Baciuška: « We struggled in the dunes because the gearbox was too hot. Once we finished the dunes the rest of the stage was all good. We were able to gain some time back at one point where everybody was getting lost. Unfortunately we picked up some speeding penalties. »
Matthias Walkner: « Today we learned a lot. It was my first time in the dunes in the Taurus and I didn’t feel totally comfortable. We had to stop in the dunes for a flat tyre and we changed it pretty quick, but then we only had one spare tyre until the refuelling. Then we got caught up in a train full of dust. We tried to push hard and kept up our fight for the Top 3, maybe the win. »
Daniel Sanders: « Stage 3 was long and we knew we had a tough task in front of us. The dune section was completely new for me. There were broken dunes and camel grass so it was definitely challenging. I‘d never seen ice on sand dunes before so that was pretty cool. There was also a bit of snow out there as well. When we went right up in the mountains the bike lost a lot of power and it felt like I was riding a little 125cc. We’ll try and win tomorrow’s stage as well and then Stage 5 is going to be another tough one in open desert. »
Luciano Benavides: « This was one of the nicest stages I’ve done in my life. The dunes were full of spectators and it was crazy to race there. Then we went up into the mountains and the landscape was really special. I managed to catch up to Daniel (Sanders), but he won the stage because of the time bonus for opening. Now I’m up to third overall and determined to keep pushing on the last two stages. »
Edgar Canet: « This was a long and tough stage, 400km with 60km of dunes at the start. Once I found my rhythm I did a good job. It’s a great feeling to be racing here in Argentina in front of so many people. Now there’s two days left and we’ll give it everything. »