Desafio Ruta 40
From 25 to 31 August 2017
With his win in the Atacama Rally last week, Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna) moved dangerously close to Sam Sunderland (KTM) in the standings of the FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship. Only 6 little points now separate the two men as the group of riders taking part in the FIM World Championship set off from Chile for Argentina.
The Desafio Ruta 40 will therefore be an intense battle, with the South American close to home, giving him a small advantage over the British rider who lives in Dubai. But the young man from Argentina, Kevin Benavides (Honda), currently in great form, is also one to watch and could get in the mix here on home turf, as could his team mates Joan Barreda et Paulo Gonçalves! In the KTM camp, Matthias Walkner will be there to support Sam Sunderland while Team Yamaha is fielding its three riders: Xavier de Soultrait, Adrien Van Beveren and Argentina’s, Franco Caimi. In quad, in the absence of Ignacio Casale (Yamaha) and Kees Koolen (Yamaha), Peru’s Alexis Hernandez (Yamaha) will be out for revenge, but he will also have to keep Poland’s Rafal Sonik (Yamaha) in his sights.
Thirty-four motorcycles are entered for the Challenge, 16 of them in the FIM class, alongside 21 quads, just 5 of them in the FIM class.
The Desafio Ruta 40 will take place from 25 to 31 August in the north of Argentina, from San Juan to San Miguel de Tucuman, a magnificent region with its share of trails, dunes and high altitudes.
This event, which is new to the FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship, will follow part of the mythical Ruta 40 that crosses Argentina from north to south over 4928 km, from Caquia on the Bolivian border to the extreme south of Patagonia.
Judith Tomaselli