Key points:

• Just eight days to go until the fourth of five championship rounds —the eleventh Desafío Ruta 40 YPF— takes place in Argentina from 26 August to 1 September.
• The 99-strong field, including W2RC entrants as well as local competitors, will face a gruelling 2,804 km route between La Rioja, Belén (Catamarca) and Salta, split into five stages.
• Among the 15 W2RC FIA entrants, Nasser Al Attiyah (Toyota Gazoo Racing) leads the pack with a 30-point cushion over Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive Racing). The Hiluxes at the top of the leader board are set to face off against the two-winner and reigning champion Sebastián Halpern (X-raid Mini JCW) in front of his home crowd.
• Among the 24 W2RC FIM entrants, Toby Price (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) is perched at the summit of the RallyGP standings with a 7-point margin over the local hero Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna Factory Racing) and a 9-point gap over Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy Honda). KTM commands the manufacturer ranking with 113 points, but Honda, second with 95, will find strength in numbers. There will be four red riders against just two for the orange team and the same number for Hero MotoSports. Husqvarna and GasGas are fielding one competitor apiece.

CARS: AL ATTIYAH EAGER TO FARE WELL IN HIS FAREWELL

In the car category, the penultimate race of the 2023 season will have a special flavour for Nasser Al Attiyah (136 points). The reigning world champion has announced that this will be his last race for Toyota. Sébastien Loeb (Bahrain Raid Xtreme), third in the provisional standings with 101 points, is sitting this one out, leaving Al Attiyah to contend with Yazeed Al Rajhi (106 points). However, the Qatari and the Saudi will have to watch out for two local drivers with shared ambitions. Fourth in the provisional standings with 74 points to his name, Sebastián Halpern, who has scored a brace in the DR40 (2016 and 2018), and his compatriot Juan Cruz Yacopini (Overdrive Racing), fifth overall with 69 points, have a decent shot at toppling the Frenchman from the provisional podium by the end of their national race. While the two Argentinians may share the same personal goals, they will be batting for different constructors. Yacopini will race for the Toyota armada, led by Al Attiyah and Al Rajhi, on top of the manufacturer standings with 175 points, whereas Halpern, the defending DR40 champion, will be the only one to fly the flag for the Mini JCWs of the X-raid team, second in the manufacturer standings with 107 points. Denis Krotov is back in the game at the wheel of his new car, an Overdrive Racing Hilux.

In the T3 category, the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team USA trio in charge of the category after three events will be on the start line. Austin Jones (146 points) holds a wafer-thin margin over Seth Quintero (145 pts), while Mitch Guthrie is just 20 points behind the leader (126 pts). Further down the classification, the teammates Cristina Gutiérrez and "Chaleco" López (Red Bull Can-Am Factory) are tied on 78 points, only 4 points ahead of João Ferreira (X-raid Yamaha). Mattias Ekström (54 points) is again showing up in a South Racing Can-Am.

In the T4 category, the battle-hardened Polaris works driver Umeda Shinsuke (Xtreme Plus) should be able to benefit from the absence of the competitors ahead of him in the overall to increase his 79-point haul.

MOTOS: HONDA TURNS OUT IN FORCE

There are 10 entrants in the RallyGP category for pro riders. Toby Price, the overall leader with 62 points, will be escorted by a single Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teammate, Mathias Walkner, after Kevin Benavides crashed again during training. The albiceleste star, fourth in the championship (43 points), who claimed his second Dakar in January and is a two-time winner of the DR40 (2016 and 2017), will not be on the start line, but his brother Luciano Benavides, second overall with 55 points, is already revving up his motorbike for the home crowds. The Argentinian will be the only rider sporting the crowned H-mark. Over at Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing, Sam Sunderland will also have to fend for himself in the absence of Daniel Sanders. India's Hero MotoSports has again picked Ross Branch and Sebastian Bühler as its champions. All in all, no factory team will be fielding more than two riders. As usual, Monster Energy Honda is going for a "shock and awe" strategy, with no fewer than four factory riders. Adrien Van Beveren, third overall with 53 points, is the highest ranked of them. In the manufacturer ranking, the red riders —the reigning world champions— will once again rely on their numerical superiority to try and catch up with the orange team, who are dominating the season so far. KTM now has 113 points to Honda's 95 and Husqvarna's 89.

There are 8 riders on the Rally2 start list. Paolo Lucci (BAS World KTM Racing), perched at the top of the standings with 66 points, is up for a rematch with Romain Dumontier (Husqvarna HT Rally Raid). The Frenchman only needs to make up 3 points on the Italian. Third overall with 45 points, another Frenchman, Jean-Loup Lepan (Duust Diverse Racing), will be flanked by riders of the calibre of his teammate Konrad Dąbrowski and regulars such as BAS World KTM Racing's Michael Docherty and Bradley Cox.

The 8 Rally3 competitors will be tackling their second race ahead of the finale in the Rallye du Maroc.

Finally, there will be 3 championship entrants in the quad race. The top two riders in the standings, Laisvydas Kancius (69 points) and Pablo Copetti (38 points), are skipping this one, clearing the way for Rodolfo Guilioli (Pepitas Racing), third with 33 points, and his closest pursuer, Juraj Varga (30 points), to inch closer to the lead in a star-studded field that also includes local hero Manuel Andújar.

Source W2RC /ASO
Photos: ASO / DPPI

Break of the steering bar left car uncontrolled, leading to a tree hit and suffer various damage

His name is Lucas Moraes, but you can call him Highlander. Current champion of the Sertões Rally and sensation of the last edition of the Dakar Rally, the young driver and navigator Kaique Bentivoglio suffered a dangerous accident during the fourth stage of the Brazilian race, in the middle of the stage in a semi-desertic area, tens of kilometers from any possibility of aid. The break of the steering wheel of your Toyota Hilux GR T1+ left the car out of control, leading to the crash into a tree.

As there was no possibility of assistance at the time, the duo, which led the race and is the current champion, ended up abandoning the stage – and with this practically no longer has a chance to fight for the third title. However, in the fifth stage, played on Wednesday, 16, the duo responded well: won the race, with the considerable advantage of 3min37s over the second-placed, Marcos Baumgart/Klever Cincea.

“Today was a victory with a taste of redemption. I do not know if the biggest impact in this accident was the knock on the tree or the discouragement that struck us because it practically took us the chance of the tri-championship. But we raised our heads, we fought for a few hours repairing the car on our own and we managed to return to the camp very late,” Moraes detailed. “Unfortunately, these are things that happen in rallies. Maybe something hit the bottom of the car and broke the bar. The important thing now is that we went back to the race, and we were very competitive. This will give us another clutter until the end of this Sertões”, he added.

The next stage of the Sertões, this Thursday, 17, starts in Crato, with arrival in Sobral, both in Ceará, offering a total of 312km against the clock.

Below is the result of the fifth stage and the information of the 31st edition of the Sertões Rally since its start last Saturday

Stage 5 results,
1º) Lucas Moraes/Kaique Bentivoglio (Toyota GR Hilux DKR T1+), 2h50min17s85
2º)  Marcos Baumgart/Kleber Cincea (Prodrive Hunter T1+), a 3min37s84
3º) Marcelo Gastaldi/Cadu Sachs (Century CR6-T T1F), a 4min53s65
4º) Sylvio de Barros/Ramon Sacilotti (Toyota GR Hilux DKR T1+), a 5min11s76
5º) Guiga Spinelli/Paulo Fiuza (Mitsubishi Triton Sport Racing T1F), a 8min19s70 

Overall classification after stage 5
1º) Marcelo Gastaldi / Cadu Sachs, Century CR6-T, (1)T1F, 19h19min52
2º) Sylvio de Barros / Ramon Sacilotti, Toyota GR Hilux DKR, (1)T1+, a 4min36
3º) Marcos Baumgart / Kleber Cincea, Prodrive Hunter, (2)T1+, a 20min32
4º) Dan Nacif / Fred Budtikewitz, Ford Ranger V8, (2)T1F, a 21min59
5º) Mauro Guedes / Edu Bampi, Toyota GR Hilux DKR, (3)T1+, a 31min36
12º) Lucas Moraes/Kaique Bentivoglio (Toyota GR Hilux DKR T1+) 

Automatic translation from the original Brazilian-Portuguese version available on www.todoterreno.pt
Source: BestPR/ Toyota Gazoo Racing 
Photo: Marcelo Maragni / Red Bull Pool Content

2018 VS 2023

The Desafío Ruta 40 YPF will be held from August 26 to September 1 in La Rioja, Belén and Salta. It will be the great comeback of this competition after a hiatus of five years. Less than two weeks before the start of the competition, it is inevitable to make a comparative review with the novelties that will be presented in this 2023 in comparison with what happened in the last edition of the race held in 2018.

Championships unification

Undoubtedly, one of the biggest changes to be seen is in the sports regulations. This motorsport discipline is in a new era thanks to the unification of the FIA and FIM world championships in what is now the new World Rally Raid Championship (W2RC) introduced in 2022. While the Desafío Ruta 40 has been in many occasions part of the former FIM World Championship -as was the case in 2018-, this 11th edition of the Argentine race will mark the debut of the W2RC in the country and in South America.

In this sense, the significant change lies in the fact that common technical specifications defining the different classes and categories have been aligned in the regulations, which simplifies -among other things- the decisions of the teams and drivers, as well as the inspection of the race.

Road Book: The best kept secret

The essence of this type of competition is to keep the itinerary in secret. For this, the fundamental tool is the Road Book, which indicates to the competitors the track to follow. Indeed, one of the major changes that will be made in this edition is the way in which it will be distributed.

Until a few years ago, the Road Book was handed out in advance, usually on the arrival of the competitors at the bivouac. In fact, it was a frequent scene to see the riders at the bivouac highlighting the Road Book. But now, in order to avoid any kind of additional help or information, the Road Book will be handed out only a few minutes before the start of each special stage.

Moreover, the FIA categories, as well as the quads, will also implement the new and sophisticated electronic Road Book, which consists of a tablet that replaces the paper version.

More safety

This edition of the Desafío Ruta 40 YPF will also implement improvements in the safety measures for the riders. Although the measures change according to each category, the most relevant modifications include the new implementation of airbags for bikes and quads; the modification of the navigation tower for bikes; as well as the limits on maximum speeds.

Daily ceremonies

With the arrival of the W2RC, there is another novelty that will be seen for the first time here: The awards ceremony. Beyond the final podium, now also, the winners of each stage will be honored with a medal ceremony that will take place alongside each day’s briefing. This will be an opportunity to recognize the daily achievements of the competitors and celebrate their performance in each stage of the competition.

Source Desafío Ruta 40

Rock-it Global, the new logistics partner of Rally dos Sertões, will transport vehicles, motorbikes, and team equipment for the Americas' biggest rally until 2026
Los Angeles, California, USA, Wednesday 16th August 2023: Rock-it Global has been named the official logistics partner for Rally dos Sertões in a multi-year contract running until 2026.
Rally dos Sertões, the biggest rallying event in the Americas, is a cross-country off-road competition that has been held in Brazil since 1993 and is named after the Sertão region.

“Rock-it is providing transportation of team equipment, vehicles, and support equipment from any location worldwide to the rally, and back again after the event,” said Alex Amaral, Regional Manager for Motorsports and Business Development Manager, Rock-it Global. “One of the many challenges of this rally is that it goes through many small towns throughout Brazil with very little infrastructure. Rock-it has employees on the ground that can coordinate and manage this and get any equipment needed throughout the entire rally route. Rock-it also deals with all requisite documentation including customs clearance and carnets for the teams.”

Elsewhere, as part of the partnership, Rock-it will use its long-standing reputation in motorsports logistics to help Rally dos Sertões grow the event both in terms of participation and global stature.

Rock-it Global has more than 15 years of experience in serving the logistics needs of motorsports teams and federations including the industry leader that competes in open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars.

“It is a pleasure to have Rock-it on board with us,” said Joaquim Monteiro, CEO of Dunas, organizer of Rally dos Sertões. “What started more than 30 years ago as a romantic adventure has turned out to be, as the years go by, more and more professional and global. Brazilian teams are relying more on world-class material, which puts a high emphasis on logistics and freight. Having Rock-it as our official logistics partner brings us the certitude that we're more than well covered.”

The 31st edition of the rally is currently underway, with rally cars, motorbikes, and off-road vehicles racing through scenic tracks that span across five Brazilian cities.

Rock-it Global has a wealth of experience in motorsport with specialists located across the globe including Brazil, Europe, and the US - where many of the teams are based.

More at rockit.global