D-3: Ready for take-off!

January 4 ^th 2018 - 00:27

The Dakar's return to Peru after five years started with the first riders and crews going through the pre-race technical and administrative scrutineering. The rally will spend three days at Las Palmas Air Base, where the majority of the competitors who have already had their appointments with race officials are South American. 25 Peruvian riders and drivers are set to start the 2018 Dakar on Saturday, some of them with the potential to light up the first few stages.

The hangars of Las Palmas Air Base in Lima are usually swarming with mechanics working on Mirage 2000 and MiG-29 aircraft, while future Peruvian Air Force fighter pilots are trained in the imposing buildings next door. However, the capital has been moving to the beat of the Dakar for a few days, with participants in the 40th edition of the race flying in from Europe, Asia and the Americas. As a result, the facility is temporarily packed with technical and administrative scrutineering stands, with race officials having a good look at each of the 342 vehicles registered for the start in Lima to make sure everyone plays by the rules. Day 1 saw most South American competitors go through this process, which also signals that things are about to get serious. Ignacio Casale, racing in the quad category, is one of the continent's best hopes for an overall win. The Chilean winner of the 2014 edition is not mincing his words: "Last year, my build-up was severely hampered by injury and I still finished second. This time around, I've done over 15,000 kilometres on my quad and I'm fighting fit: I'm not here to win stages, but to take the overall." He came across other pretenders to the crown such as Rafał Sonik, Jeremías González Ferioli and Pablo Copetti, who will be seeing him again on the course.

The first day of scrutineering dawned with the renewed Peruvian contingent all fired-up and galvanised by the excitement of racing the first few stages on its home turf. Ignacio Flores, who won the inaugural stage in the quad category in 2013, will be sitting this one out after hurting his wrist during training, but fans will be able to get behind Juan Carlos Uribe and Javier Uribe as they seek to capitalise on their knowledge of the terrain in the Side by Side category: "Our first goal is to win all the stages in Peru." Meanwhile, in the car category, the top favourites will undergo scrutineering tomorrow. Among them will be Nasser Al-Attiyah and Giniel De Villiers (Toyota), as well as Nani Roma, flanked by his X-Raid Praetorian Guard. One of the most consistent drivers in the history of the rally could also be seen at Las Palmas after missing last year's race. The South American Renault Duster Team called upon the services of Portugal's Carlos Sousa —boasting 10 top 10 finishes in 18 starts— to take the fight to the favourites' teams: "We probably need Peugeot, Toyota and Mini to make mistakes if we are to achieve a strong result. Cracking the top 10 would be nice."