For the second year in a row, the Dakar drivers will face the magnitude of the Peruvian dunes, an environment that took its toll on several participants last year and posed a major challenge at the start of the competition. Peruvians will now feature in their home country from start to finish, looking for a place on the podium and showing their quality as competitors.
You can already feel the spirit of the Dakar Rally that will come here once again in 2019, taking place exclusively in Peru. In a press conference held at the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism, the Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Roger Valencia, stressed that the 2019 Dakar Rally, which will be held entirely in Peru, will significantly boost the domestic economy, as well as the country’s international image, based on the results obtained in the 2018 edition of the competition during its passage through the country.
According to studies conducted between last January 3 and 11, the Dakar Rally 2018 generated an economic impact in Peru of more than S/130 million as a result of tourism spending, local residents’ spending and investments. 58% of the total generated corresponds to the economic impact of tourism, i.e. spending by Peruvians and foreign visitors.
There were more than one million spectators attending the Rally and related events. This was in addition to the international advertising impact of the whole competition, which amounted to US$ 300 million. For Peru, promotional profits amounted to US$ 154 million. For the next edition, the Peruvian government is set to spend US$ 6 million.
The Dakar Tour was held after the conference, a meeting that brought together competitors at the Hilton Miraflores Hotel in Lima. Participants, organizers and authorities had the opportunity to exchange information and comments on the challenge ahead of them for the coming year.
After the challenge in January 2018, which passed through Argentina and Bolivia as well as Peru, the European competitors have already resumed certain training activities for the start date, January 6, 2019, in Peru.
For now, events are already being planned in South America that will provide some test time for the Dakar Rally. In Argentina, registrations have already started for the Route 40 Challenge and in Peru competitors will be tested in September, preparing for the challenge they will face in January.
The Peruvian representatives feel more enthusiastic than ever, knowing that they will once again be traveling through national territory and will have the support of their compatriots through the different stages. Nicolas Fuchs and Fernanda Kanno, who had to abandon the competition last year after mechanical failures, will seek their revenge and a good position in the standings.
Alexis Hernandez (5th), Romulo Airaldi (22nd) and Lalo Burga (84th), who finished the competition, will be looking to improve their times and stay at the top of the standings along the way. Alexis Hernandez, the Peruvian representative who achieved the best ranking in his category, wrote as follows on his social media at the end of last year’s edition: “We finish this tough Dakar Rally full of satisfaction, pride and a lot of dirt. This team of warriors is unparalleled.” This will also be the case when the 2019 edition begins, the eleventh in South America and the first to be held solely and exclusively in a single country. The star will undoubtedly be the indomitable Peruvian desert.
The Dakar Series Inca Challenge returns in its third edition
The Dakar 100% Peru holds more than one surprise and this year the Dakar Series Inca challenge will return to our country, a competition in which the drivers will not only test their vehicles but also their ability to face the Peruvian dunes in 3 days of competition open to bikes, quads, cars, SxS and trucks in the desert of Ica. The technical checks and the start podium will be held on September 13, and there will be three loop stages from September 14-16. This is definitely the prelude and the best preparation for the 2019 Dakar.
Registration is open from 4 June via the website: http://www.desafioinca.com/
(Peruvian Travel)