As the condor (rather than the crow) flies, almost 5,000 kilometres separate Mar del Plata from Lima. In 2012, the Dakar will be staging a pan-American adventure of more than 9,000 kilometres in total. Unlike previous year’s loops, the route will transport the rally from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean to those of the Pacific, enabling its competitors to discover new lands and another aspect of South America. The scale of this challenge has also led to a change in the race’s format, which will include 14 days of racing in 2012. Constantly guided by the Andes Mountain range, the drivers and riders will be crossing the Atacama, and will experience in particular the diversity of the dunes as they head into Peru.
Argentina: heading for the hills. Grand Start + 5 stages. The competitors will be getting to the heart of the sporting matter on 1st January, after the starting ceremony at Mar del Plata. Used to journeying through Argentina, the riders, drivers and crews will this time be making a bee-line for the Andes Mountains. Only a few familiar landscapes as well as some first-rate sections, including dunes and canyons, have been selected for the Argentine part of the programme in 2012.
Chile: en route for the Atacama. 5 stages + 1 rest day. The rally will enter Chile with a spot of climbing. After having travelled over the Andes, the rally will then start to follow the range to its tip, working their way up between the mountains and ocean. During this journey northwards, the Dakar will be delving in to the heart of the Atacama Desert, where navigational skill is just as important as the ability to tame the dunes.
Peru: another face of the desert. 4 stages + finish. At sea level. This time the crossing of the frontier is painless, but the contrast is very real. Before arriving to Lima the most experienced participants can prepare themselves for the route because the Peruvian dunes seems endless. The participant's journey through the country to Lima will give them a good impression of the liveliness and cultural diversity of the nation, which possesses almost 50% of the population with mixed race Amerindian and European origins, and where Quechua is still the language mainly spoken by almost 15% of the inhabitants. The Dakar World Tour will be in Lima Peru on April 12Th. promoting the rally.
