The Desafío Ruta 40 (English: ''Route 40 Challenge'') is an annual

rally raid Rally raid is a type of off-road motorsport event competed with different types of vehicles. Along with shorter Baja (cross-country rally), baja rallies, rally raid constitutes cross-country rallying. Both the Fédération Internationale de l'Aut ...

held in Argentina held intermittently since 2010, and organized by the

Argentine Automobile Club The Argentine Automobile Club (, ACA) is Argentina's largest automobile association. It was founded on June 11, 1904, by Dalmiro Varela Castex, who in 1892 had imported the country's first registered automobile, a Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, D ...

(ACA), with the sponsorship of the FIA and the

Dakar Rally The Dakar Rally () or simply "The Dakar" (), formerly known as the Paris–Dakar Rally (), is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). It is an off-road endurance event traversing terrain much tougher than convent ...

. The competition constituted the main date of the Argentine Cross Country Rally Championship (CARCC) and was part of the

Dakar Series The Dakar Series was an annual series of rally raid off-road races, organised by the A.S.O. The series groups together events similar in style to the Dakar Rally and was founded in 2008 after the cancellation of the 2008 edition of the rally. H ...

. The race resumed its activity in 2023, being part of the second season of the

World Rally-Raid Championship The World Rally-Raid Championship (officially abbreviated as W2RC) is a rally raid series co-sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA and Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, FIM and promoted by the Amaury Sport ...

and forming the fourth round within it. As its name indicated, the test was made up of a variable number of stages along National Route 40, the longest in that country, with more than 5,000 kilometers in length. The competition was held in different categories for cars, motorcycles, ATVs and trucks.

History

In 2010, on the occasion of the

Argentina Bicentennial The Argentina Bicentennial () was a series of ceremonies, festivals, and observances celebrated on May 25, 2010, and throughout the year. They commemorated the 200th anniversary of the May Revolution, a sequence of historical events that led to th ...

, the Desafío Ruta 40 was organized for the first time, with a complete route of National Route 40, from Cabo Virgenes ( Santa Cruz) to

La Quiaca La Quiaca is a small city in the north of the , on the southern bank of the La Quiaca River, opposite the town of Villazón, Bolivia. It lies at the end of National Route 9, from San Salvador de Jujuy (the provincial capital), and at an altitude ...

(

Jujuy San Salvador de Jujuy (), commonly known as Jujuy and locally often referred to as San Salvador, is the capital and largest city of Jujuy Province in northwest Argentina. Also, it is the seat of the Doctor Manuel Belgrano Department. It lies near ...

), for a total of 5,194 kilometers in nine stages. The success of the competition led to its reiteration in 2011, also with a complete route of the route. The 2012 edition shortened the total route to five stages, starting in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

and ending in

San Salvador de Jujuy San Salvador de Jujuy (), commonly known as Jujuy and locally often referred to as San Salvador, is the capital and largest city of Jujuy Province in northwest Argentina. Also, it is the seat of the Doctor Manuel Belgrano Department. It lies near ...

. In 2013, the competition became one of the Dakar Series, consolidating its appeal with more than 125 participants. The route once again joined San Salvador de Jujuy and San Juan, but in a north–south direction. The 2014 edition returned to the south–north format, but starting in Bariloche and ending in San Juan. However, the first two stages were suspended at the last minute due to heavy rain. Catamarca and La Rioja hosted the 2015 edition of the test, while Mendoza, San Juan and La Rioja did so in 2016. In 2017, two independent races were held: the Desafío Route 40 Sur, connecting

Neuquén Neuquén (; ) is the capital city of the Argentine province of Neuquén and of the Confluencia Department, located in the east of the province. It occupies a strip of land west of the confluence of the Limay and Neuquén rivers which form t ...

with the Las Grutas de Río Negro resort, and the Desafío Ruta 40 Norte, with a route between San Juan and Tucumán. The race continued in northwest Argentina in 2018, this time from Tucumán to San Juan.

Return

The competition was not held for the following four years, until it was revived as a round of the World Rally-Raid Championship in

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

. The Desafío Ruta 40 was retained for the 2024 season.

Winners by edition

References

External links

Official website
{{Rally raid Motorsport competitions in Argentina Rally raid races Recurring sporting events established in 2010 2010 establishments in Argentina