The FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) returns to South American soil this week as the Desafío Ruta 40 officially kicks off its third round of the 2026 season. Centered in the province of San Juan, the rally marks a significant homecoming for the sport, bringing the world’s elite rally-raid competitors to a landscape that has long been considered one of the most punishing and technically demanding in the world of off-road racing.
For the 38 crews arriving in Argentina, the challenge goes beyond the leaderboard. The five-day event, organized by the Automóvil Club Argentino, covers approximately 1,692 competitive kilometers within a total route of 2,660 kilometers. As teams navigate the Andes foothills and the formidable El Nihuil dunes—a feature absent from the route for nine years—the race promises to test both mechanical endurance and the tactical acumen of the world’s top drivers and navigators. The event is a pivotal moment for the championship, as manufacturers scramble for critical points in what has become a high-stakes tactical battle.
The Battle for Championship Control
The current landscape of the W2RC is dominated by a fierce rivalry between the newcomer Dacia Sandriders and the established power of Toyota Gazoo Racing. Having secured victories in the opening rounds in Saudi Arabia and Portugal, Dacia enters Argentina with an 83-point lead in the Manufacturers’ Championship. This season is widely regarded as the team’s final official campaign, and they are clearly pushing to cement their legacy before their exit.
Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah, a veteran of these terrain types, emphasized the complexity of the upcoming stages. “For Argentina, it will be a nice and very difficult race. I have a lot of experience there. It’s fantastic that we (Dacia) have two cars leading the championships. It will be a huge fight but we know our car and it’s very strong,” Al-Attiyah noted during pre-race preparations. The Dacia squad, which includes Sébastien Loeb and Edouard Boulanger, currently holds a seven-point lead in the Drivers’ and Navigators’ standings, though they face a daunting “army” of 12 Toyota Hilux entries looking to close that gap.
Toyota’s response is led by Yazeed Al-Rajhi, Henk Lategan, and Seth Quintero, the latter of whom currently sits in third place in the Drivers’ Championship. With the support of Overdrive Racing, Toyota has bolstered its lineup with privateers and seasoned professionals alike, including former Dakar-winning biker Kevin Benavides. Meanwhile, Ford Racing is also making notable strides, trailing Toyota by just 38 points. With legends like Carlos Sainz and Joan Roma behind the wheel of their Raptors, Ford remains a significant threat to the status quo, despite a challenging outing in Portugal that saw the team forced to withdraw early.
Route and Technical Demands
The route for this year’s Desafío Ruta 40 is designed to force errors. After initial administrative and technical checks at the Autódromo San Juan Villicum, the competition begins in earnest with a 341km opening stage that winds through rural tracks in the Andes foothills. This section is expected to be a test of precision, featuring narrow, technical trails and tricky river crossings that punish even minor navigation mistakes.
The following stages represent a shift in geography and intensity, as the rally moves into the Mendoza region. For the first time in a decade, the event will visit San Rafael for two nights, providing a base for the longest stage of the rally—a 455km loop that tackles the notorious El Nihuil dunes. This terrain is notorious for its shifting, soft sand and varying color profiles, which often deceive drivers and test the limits of vehicle suspension at altitudes exceeding 2,500 meters.
| Stage | Distance | Key Feature |
|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 | 341km | Andes foothills / River beds |
| Stage 2 | 298km | Salt flats / Sandy terrain |
| Stage 3 | 455km | El Nihuil dunes / High altitude |
| Stage 4 | 310km | Winding hairpins / Dust |
| Stage 5 | 288km | Cuesta del Viento / Open wilderness |
Category Spotlights
While the Ultimate category garners the most headlines, the Challenger and Stock categories offer their own narratives. In the Challenger field, the absence of series leader Pau Navarro leaves the door open for Dutch driver Puck Klaassen and her navigator Augusto Sanz to make a move. They currently trail by just two points, and with strong competition from Portuguese duo Alexandre Pinto and Bernardo Oliveira, the category remains wide open.
In the Stock category, the Defender Rally Team continues to dominate with its Defender Dakar D7x-Rs. Rokas Baciuška, who holds a 26-point lead in the standings, will face internal pressure from teammates Sara Price and Dakar legend Stéphane Peterhansel. Peterhansel, who hit back with a win in Portugal after a slow start in Saudi Arabia, remains a primary contender to bridge the nine-point gap to Price as the teams head into the final stages.
Looking Ahead
The logistics of the rally are as complex as the driving itself, with the Automóvil Club Argentino coordinating across multiple provinces to ensure safety and fairness. As the crews finish their final preparations in San Juan, the focus shifts to the post-event press conference and the prize-giving ceremony, which are scheduled to take place at Plaza 25 de Mayo on the afternoon of Friday, May 29. These ceremonies will serve as the final checkpoint for this leg of the championship, providing clarity on the standings as the season progresses into its next phase.
For fans and followers of the sport, the Desafío Ruta 40 is more than just a race; This proves a display of human endurance and engineering excellence against the backdrop of the Argentine wilderness. We invite our readers to share their thoughts on the manufacturer battle in the comments section below and stay tuned for our daily coverage as the leaderboard takes shape throughout the week.
