Dakar Series Desafío Inca, great pilots and teams for a great race

July 20 ^th 2018 - 16:40

With the prospect of a Dakar Rally 2019 100% in Peru, the Desafío Inca, which will take place in the Ica desert from 13 to 16 September 2018, has become an excellent alternative for many of the key figures of the rally raid worldwide, in the different disciplines.

In Bikes, important official teams had already confirmed their participation with elite competitors in the third edition of the Dakar Series in Peru: KTM Racing, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing, Yamaha Yamalube Racing, Monster Honda Racing Team and Hero Motorsport.

KTM, the two-wheel king for 17 years in the Dakar, together with Husqvarna Factory, were the last two official teams to confirm their presence in the Desafío Inca. The Austrian team will bring its dream team: the winners of the last three Dakars, Matthias Walkner (2018), Sam Sunderland (2017) and Toby Price (2016). Then come the Spanish rider Laia Sanz and the Argentinian Luciano Benavides, the last entry. For their part, Pablo Quintanilla (Chile) and Andrew Short (USA) will be riding for Husqvarna this season.

Honda Racing Corporation will have the Argentinian Kevin Benavides (2nd in the 2018 Dakar), the Spaniard Joan Barreda, who is returning to the dunes of Peru after his operation, and the great fighter in different battles, the Portuguese Paulo Gonçalves. To make a demanding race even more spectacular, Yamaha will have the Frenchmen Xavier de Soultrait and Adrien Van Beveren, who returns to action after his accident in the last edition of the Dakar, and the Argentinian Franco Caimi. For its part, the team from India Hero Motorsport will line up with Spain’s Oriol Mena (best Rookie of the 2018 Dakar), Joaquim Rodrigues (Portugal) and CS Santosh (India).

The host country will have representatives such as Renzo Corno and Gianna Velarde, the first Peruvians to confirm their participation. Corno will return to the tracks after his presence in the last Dakar. Velarde, who arrives from Enduro, will have her first off-road experience in the discipline in the Desafío Inca with the aim of fulfilling her great aim, the Dakar. In cars, Francisco “Pancho” de León was another local competitor to register for the race.

The event will have other key figures of Rally Raid such as the all-time winner in the history of the Dakar, Stéphane Peterhansel (France). Together with his wife Andrea Meyer, “Monsieur Dakar” will take on the dunes of Peru with an SxS Yamaha YXZ, showing his eternal fighting spirit in a category in which he will take part for the first time. Pablo Copetti (Argentina), one of the most experienced quad riders, obtained his greatest sporting success in the 2017 Dakar by finishing 3rd, and will take part in the Desafío Inca.