Press Release | August 25, 2023
The countdown is on for Desafio Ruta 40, round four of the 2023 World Rally Raid Championship, which is scheduled for August 26 to September 1 in Argentina. Here’s a preview from Honda, KTM, GasGas and Husqvarna.
The following is a press release from KTM, previewing the Desafio Ruta 40…
2023 Desafio Ruta 40
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Toby Price and Matthias Walkner are ready to take on the Desafio Ruta 40 in Argentina. Celebrating its 11th edition in 2023, the five-stage event marks round four of this year’s FIM World Rally-Raid Championship and will see the first competitive return to action for the team since the third round of the series back in April.
Toby Price
Back on the world championship calendar for the first time since 2018, the Desafio Ruta 40 starts at the bivouac at La Rioja before heading north, through the Catamarca region, into Salta and the finish line on September 1. A short prologue on Sunday, August 27 will decide the start order for the following day’s stage one of the grueling event. Over the course of the week, competitors will race through challenging terrain comprising dunes, sandy tracks, and fast gravel roads.
Coming into the Desafio Ruta 40 leading the FIM World Rally-Raid Championship standings, Toby Price will be looking to extend that advantage on this penultimate round of the series. Price placed fourth at the Sonora Rally back in April and currently holds a seven-point lead at the top of the rankings. The tough Argentine terrain should suit Toby well—the first of his two Dakar Rally wins came in 2016, when the event was held almost entirely in Argentina.
Toby Price
Toby Price: “Looking back at Sonora, it was a nice, solid race and nothing too crazy. It’s great to be here at round four in Argentina and it’s great to be back in South America. It’s always cool to see people that are excited to watch the race here and I’m looking forward to see what it will bring. We know we’re in for some tricky conditions, that’s for sure. The championship is good at the moment, I’m leading out but there’s still two rounds to go, so for sure, anything can happen. We’ll just focus on Argentina for now then see what happens from there. I’m looking forward to seeing what the race will bring, everything is looking good at the moment. My body feels good, so we just need to have a strong race till the end!”
The Sonora Rally marked the first race back for Matthias Walkner after the injury he sustained in the Dakar. Despite being far from 100 percent, he was able to secure a strong top-five finish at the tough Mexican event. Now fighting fit for the Desafio Ruta 40, the Austrian star will be focused on further improving his pace and feeling aboard his KTM 450 RALLY. However, with the mixed terrain seen in Argentina, and the technical navigation required both suiting Matthias well, he should prove to be a real threat for the overall podium.
Matthias Walkner
Matthias Walkner: “I’m really looking forward to racing in South America again. The Desafio Ruta 40 has a lot of old, Dakar-style tracks, let’s say. The terrain is really unforgiving, and I know some of the stages here are a real challenge, especially those near Belen. Personally, I’m feeling good, it was nice to get back to racing in Mexico and now here in Argentina, I want to push for another solid finish. During the break, we did a lot of testing with the bike, but we won’t really see them being used until the next round in Morocco. My goals here are the same as always – give 100 percent first of all, but if all goes well, it would be great to finish on the podium.”
Matthias Walkner
The 2023 Desafio Ruta 40 starts with a short prologue on August 27, followed by five full days of racing through the Argentine desert. On reaching the checkered flag in Salta on September 1, riders will have covered a total distance of 2,804 kilometers, with 1,555 kilometers raced against the clock.
The following is a press release from Husqvarna, previewing the Desafio Ruta 40…
Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Luciano Benavides is excited to return to FIM World Rally-Raid Championship action at his home race, the Desafio Ruta 40–the fourth and penultimate round of the 2023 series. Following a long, four-month break since the last event, Benavides will be looking to maintain the momentum that has carried him to podium finishes at the two previous rounds.
Luciano Benavides
Currently lying second in the world championship standings, just seven points behind the leader, Benavides has enjoyed a highly successful season so far. After securing a top-six result at the Dakar Rally in January, the FR 450 Rally rider went on to finish as runner-up at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, followed by third at the Sonora Rally in Mexico. Now, coming into the latter half of the world championship, Luciano is aiming to make use of his home advantage to claim another top result and close in on the series leader.
The format of the Desafio Ruta 40 will see riders complete a short prologue on Sunday, August 27, before heading out into the desert proper for five full days of racing from La Rioja to the finish in Salta. Of the 2,804 kilometres covered by the RallyGP riders, 1,555 will be timed special, raced against the clock. The Argentine event is expected to challenge all competitors with a mixture of varied terrain including dunes, sandy tracks, and rocky pistes, as well as some technically demanding navigation as riders make their way through each stage. With important championship points available, Benavides will be giving his all from the start to the rally finish in Salta on September 1.
Luciano Benavides
Luciano Benavides: “I’m really happy to be here in Argentina – La Rioja is like a home to me, so it feels so good to be racing here. Your home race is always special, but I’m also sitting in a good position in the championship after three strong results this year, so that makes the race even more important. Of course, I have a good idea of the terrain here, but rally is always unpredictable and the navigation here in Argentina is always really tough. My plan is to take things day-by-day, keep focused, push as hard as I can, and hopefully come away with another solid finish. Since Sonora, I’ve been doing a lot of training, both on the rally bike and the motocross bike. We had a really good test in America too, where I was able to test a few improvements that should help us at this race and in the future. Honestly, I’m feeling really good on the bike, the team have been working hard, and I’m looking forward to getting started here in Argentina.”
Sam Sunderland Returns to Action at Desafio Ruta 40
The following is a press release from GasGas, previewing the Desafio Ruta 40…
Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing’s Sam Sunderland is all set to take on the Desafio Ruta 40. After sadly crashing out of the Sonora Rally back in April, Sam arrives in Argentina fighting fit and focused on securing a strong result at the ultra-challenging event. Daniel Sanders remains sidelined due to injury.
Sam Sunderland
It’s been quite a break for the riders of the FIM World Rally-Raid Championship, with round three, the Sonora Rally, finishing just less than four months ago. With Sam crashing out of that race on day two, the downtime gave the Brit plenty of time to get checked out and recover.
Keen to get his 2024 season back on track, Sunderland now faces the five-stage, 2,804-kilometer Desafio Ruta 40 in Argentina. Known for its tough terrain and often even tougher navigation, the race will challenge riders with a short prologue on Sunday, August 27 to decide the start order for the first of five long stages raced against the clock.
The event starts in La Rioja and works its way north, through Belen in the Catamarca region, and into Salta for the finish on Friday, September 1. In total, Sam and his rivals will be on the gas for 1,555 kilometers of timed special stage.
Thankfully, Sam escaped his crash at the Sonora Rally without serious injury. Now, looking to ramp things up again ahead of the Dakar Rally early in 2024, the RX 450F racer will be aiming to use the Desafio Ruta 40 to build his speed and confidence, as well as securing a good, solid finish.
Daniel Sanders, who injured his right leg while training, is currently in the Red Bull Athlete Performance Center in Austria to work on his recovery. We look forward to seeing the Aussie back on the bike as soon as possible.
Sam Sunderland: “Sonora was a bit of a scary one and also marked strike three for me this season in terms of finishing an event. It’s all been a bit frustrating. I went back to London and had some checks on my knee which I was super worried about, luckily it was only a broken kneecap, and all the ligaments were okay. I got off lightly for the type of crash it was. We’ve had two good tests in the US since then so that’s helped my confidence. I got my feeling back and the freedom I like to ride with. For sure, the main goal here in Argentina has to be to finish, since I haven’t done so well in the first three races. But I’m here to race after all, I didn’t come to just explore the desert! I won my first Dakar here back when it was in Argentina, so flying into Buenos Aires, all the memories of that win came back. Definitely going to be a tough race, but I’m feeling good and looking forward to it.”
The following is a press release from Honda, previewing the Desafio Ruta 40…
All riders from the Monster Energy Honda Team will reach Argentina highly motivated, determined to show their skills in the fourth of five competitive rounds from the FIM World Rally-Raid Championship. Like the previous race held in Mexico, this is a new chapter in the W2RC history. Action will take place from 26 August to the 1 September.
Pablo Quintanilla
José Ignacio Cornejo
The expectations are high regarding the terrain and riders will face a grueling 2,804 kilometers route between La Rioja, Belén (Catamarca) and Salta. Following the same standard as the other short races in the calendar, there will be a total of five stages – meaning 1.555 km of special stages. Argentina hosted the Dakar Rally for ten times in a row from 2009 to 2019 and is a hot destination for off-road lovers, with sublime landscapes and a great enthusiasm from local fans. The Desafio Ruta 40 also ran for 10 editions from 2009 to 2018 and after five years on the ice is back in the international scene.
Adrien Van Beveren
A total of 115 riders will compete in the bikes category, including 10 entrants in the Rally GP category for pro riders. Adrien Van Beveren – currently third in the W2RC ranking with 53 points – José Ignacio Cornejo (7th), Pablo Quintanilla (9th) and Ricky Brabec (10th) will represent once again our colors. In the manufacturer ranking Honda is the defending Champion.
Ricky Brabec
Administrative and technical scrutineering will take place next Saturday at the Estadio Superdomo de La Rioja, from 9 am to 6 pm.
Ruben Faria | General Manager
“Here we go to the 4th stop of the W2RC. We are glad to be back in Ruta 40, where we compete for the last time in 2018. Most of the riders that will fight for the victory and for the championship points know the terrain. Adrien Van Beveren is currently our stronger contender regarding the W2RC title. The team is strong and motivated for this challenge. They like this kind of terrain, it will be for sure very technical. I think this will be a very interesting competition, so I hope we can start well in the prologue so we can fight for the Ruta 40”.
Ruben Faria | Adrien Van Beveren #42
“I am happy to be back in Argentina. I have such good memories from this country – it was here that I made my Dakar in 2016. The desert here is really complete and there are a lot of possibilities. I think now we will be in the same area that we crossed with Dakar, so it’s very emotional to be in this region again. For me this is the purest rally can be. I feel ready, fit and prepared to go fast and I hope I can make the difference. Also happy to be again with the team and determined to fight for the championship.”
Adrien Van Beveren | José Ignacio Cornejo #11
“I am very motivated and looking forward to restarting the championship after a couple of months. Desafio Ruta 40 is always a tough rally and I feel ready to compete at the highest level. We have been doing a great preparation with the team and things unfold really well. I can’t wait to get on top of my Honda CRF 450 Rally and start the race! It is also special for me to be in touch with the fans from Argentina, they are really warm and enthusiastic.”
José Ignacio Cornejo | Pablo Quintanilla #7
“It’s great to be back in Argentina to compete in the World Championship, that really pleases me a lot. It’s good to be again with a team after a few months away. To race in Argentina is like being home, after so many years with the Dakar in South America. Ruta 40 is a very demanding race for riders and bikes. We will face extreme temperatures in the desert, cold mornings and hot days. I feel really good to face this challenge and I am looking forward to getting into action”.
Pablo Quintanilla | Ricky Brabec #2
“No expectations for the Ruta 40, just want to have a mistake free rally and to come away with this event behind us in healthy condition to put the focus on Dakar. Of course we want to win. it’s always the goal but it’s not as easy as it seems. The competition is strong and a lot of people are fighting for top spot. Looking forward to coming back to South America as we have missed this zone of rally for a few years”.
