Organizers Announce Distance and Entrants for Dakar Rally 2018
Dec 15, 2017
With Dakar Rally 2018 coming up in a matter of weeks, organizers have announced the driving distance and entrants for all categories.
The total driving distance for the trucks category will be 8,710 km, of which SSs (timed segments) make up a total of 4,154 km. The total SS distance in the previous event came to only 2,262 km as two stages had to be canceled due to bad weather and some stages had to be shortened. This upcoming rally will have contestants compete over nearly twice the SS distance compared to last year.
You can scroll horizontally
| Date | Stage | Start | Finish | Distance | SS distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, Jan. 6 | Stage １ | Lima, Peru | Pisco | 272 | 31 |
| Sun, Jan. 7 | Stage ２ | Pisco | Pisco | 278 | 267 |
| Mon, Jan. 8 | Stage ３ | Pisco | San Juan de Marcona | 502 | 295 |
| Tue, Jan. 9 | Stage ４ | San Juan de Marcona | San Juan de Marcona | 444 | 330 |
| Wed, Jan. 10 | Stage ５ | San Juan de Marcona | Arequipa | 932 | 267 |
| Thur, Jan. 11 | Stage ６ | Arequipa | La Paz, Bolivia | 758 | 313 |
| Fri, Jan. 12 | Rest day | La Paz | ― | ― | |
| Sat, Jan. 13 | Stage ７ | La Paz | Uyuni | 669 | 368 |
| Sun, Jan. 14 | Stage ８ | Uyuni | Tupiza | 558 | 380 |
| Mon, Jan. 15 | Stage ９ | Tupiza | Salta, Argentina | 754 | 242 |
| Tue, Jan. 16 | Stage 10 | Salta, Argentina | Belen | 795 | 372 |
| Wed, Jan. 17 | Stage 11 | Belen | Chilecito | 746 | 280 |
| Thur, Jan. 18 | Stage 12 | Chilecito | San Juan | 791 | 522 |
| Fri, Jan. 19 | Stage 13 | San Juan | Cordoba | 927 | 368 |
| Sat, Jan. 20 | Stage 14 | Cordoba | Cordoba | 284 | 119 |
| Total (km) | 8,710 | 4,154 | |||
For route details, please visit the Dakar Rally web site at:
https://www.dakar.com/dakar/2018/us/route.html
Competition in the upcoming Dakar Rally will be set in the desert in the early stages and highlands in the intermediate stages, with the final stages expected to be a test of speed. In particular, Stage 12 on Jan. 18, will feature the longest SS of this race at 522 km, where we can expect to see fierce competition as contestants near the rally’s finish line at Cordoba.
While the total number of entrants in Dakar Rally 2018 is larger than it was in the previous event, entrants in the trucks category is down to 44 trucks from the previous 50, a 12% drop. (Numbers are current as of Dec. 7 but are subject to change. For the latest list of entrants, please visit the Dakar Rally web site at: https://www.dakar.com/dakar/2018/us/rider/starters-bikes.html ）
You can scroll horizontally
| Category | 2017 | 2018 | Increase | Percentage over previous event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bikes | 146 | 142 | -4 | 97% |
| Quads (buggies) | 37 | 50 | 13 | 135% |
| Cars | 73 | 92 | 19 | 126% |
| UTVs (utility vehicles) | 10 | 13 | 3 | 130% |
| Trucks | 50 | 44 | -6 | 88% |
| Total (vehicles) | 316 | 341 | 25 | 108% |
Not only do the large trucks require exceptional skills to drive, they also need first-rate maintenance skills to be serviced. For this reason, entrants are trending toward those who are able to deliver excellent performance overall as a team. With a record number of consecutive finishes in the rally spanning over more than a quarter of a century, the HINO team will also be facing a test of its mettle in this race.
Dakar Rally 2018 racing numbers for the HINO500 Series trucks, Car 1 and Car2, are 521 and 511, respectively.
Racing numbers in the Dakar Rally are assigned for each division based on their final standing in the previous rally, with smaller numbers assigned to those higher up in rankings. The trucks category is assigned numbers in the 500s, with 521 assigned to HINO500 Series Car 1, and 511 to Car 2. To view the latest standings or check the GPS-based tracking system during the rally on the Dakar Rally website （ https://www.dakar.com/ ）please make sure to check out numbers 511 and 521!
