The 2012 Dakar Rally was run over 15 days in January along a 5,000+ mile route from Argentina, through Chile, with the finish in Lima, Peru. Over 500 competitors ran in four classes: motorcycle, quads, cars and trucks.

Each of the rally’s 14 stages is covered in half-hour highlight reels on YouTube, if you really want to dig in or, for a quick taste of the action, check out this 2012 promo video. The sight of a 10-ton rally truck drifting through a corner (1:09) is pretty amazing.

The rally has been run in South America since 2009. I’ve posted the route map below. Race results are in the text link above.

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