Dakar Rally visits South America in the New Year

THE celebrated annual Dakar Rally is an endurance spectacle of man and machine and takes place once again, this time on the challenging terrain of South America, from January 2 to 14 as it is still considered too dangerous to undertake in West Africa.

The 2017 Dakar Rally route will take in Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay covering a distance of approximately 9000 kilometres. A longer duration at altitude has been planned along with the usual assortment of strength-sapping desert-like heat, unforgiving dunes, rocky ravines and river beds. 

In addition to all of this, there are new navigation rules so that the 2017 Dakar promises to be a racing spectacle of some note.

Among the many participating car manufacturers, MINI will enter seven teams with some well-known and successful drivers.

2017 will see the race debut of the new MINI John Cooper Works Rally; a car built to win from experience gained with four successive Dakar Rally wins (2012-2015), and four FIA World cup titles.