Motul & Dakar present the 2019 Dakar rally at SEMA

10 years after the first edition to be held on the South American continent, the 2019 Dakar will be run on a new loop rally-route, with the start and finish in Lima. The Peruvian sand will play a decisive role in the quest for top honours. At this years Sema show in Las Vegas Motul’s Guillaume Pailleret and Dakar’s Xavier Gavory highlight the continuation of a great partnership.

 

Long before the current division of nations, Peru was built on a multifaceted heritage, some elements of this South American identity date back nearly 5,000 years. A testament of the Inca civilization, Machu Picchu has become an emblem of cultural diversity as well as the country’s most famoustourist attraction, while the affinity of the Peruvian people is recognized in the term “Pachamama" designating a respectful and intimate relationship with nature.

 

On the other hand, visitors who go to the Pacific’s surf spots also follow this tradition while they enjoy, with moderation, a Pisco Sour or honour local products in heading to restaurants featuring the new wave of Peruvian gastronomy.

 

Scarce rainfall has led to completely desert areas, which the Dakar first explored in 2012 and 2013. When the Dakar first arrived in Peru, only the most outstanding competitors enjoyed the proud moment of standing on the podium in Lima. The following year, the Peruvian fans had an extra boost when they saw one of their quad riders, Ignacio Flores, win the first stage in Pisco. When the Dakar returned to the country for the 40th edition of the rally, crossing the deserts of Ica and Tanaka was a major test for the participants, with such top-line contenders as Sam Sunderland in bikes or Sébastien Loeb in cars being eliminated. This year Peruvian fans’ hopes will mostly be riding on Nicolás Fuchs, 12th in cars in 2017 and Alexis Hernández, 5th in quads last January.

 

Next January, the competitors will have to confront these indomitable mountains of sand using a different sequencing, favouring a progressive increase in difficulty just until the end of the rally. And as aficionados know, nothing can be taken for granted before having crossed the last finish line.

 

 

The Dakar Rally and Motul go hand in hand without question. For Motul it’s a perfect way to identify itself with the biggest challenge in motorsport and to reach out hand help the riders and drivers taking on the biggest adventure of their lives. Dakar is so important for Motul because in order of a participant to finish he most adhere to so many of our brands main values such as ingenuity, brotherly, especially for the independent riders and of course bravery.

 

Just like the last edition Motul will continue to support the event by bringing the Motul Racing Lab along which welcomes every participant to have their oil analysed and talk to our experts. On top of that we will continue to provide extensive support the the independent riders who have no outside support with our truck and the Originals by Motul bivouac.

Our media crews will also be on site to capture and tell the Motul Epic stories we see out in the dunes and it’s worth mentioning that journalist will have to opportunity top use our air pressure blowers to clean their devices at our service truck.

 

Peru is a fantastic place for rally-raid. It looks like the Mauritanian desert that we crossed when the Dakar was still held in Africa. — Stephane Peterhansel.