The FIM prologue of the thirteenth edition of the Desafío Ruta 40 YPF will take place tomorrow. 73 riders were cleared to start the prologue, including 71 championship entrants (10 in RallyGP, 50 in Rally2, 3 in Rally3 and 8 in Quads). Click here to see the list of FIM riders authorized to start. In accordance with the new regulations for 2026, FIA entrants will keep their powder dry until the end of scrutineering and the beginning of stage 1 on Monday, 25 May.
The motorbike championship leader, Luciano Benavides, feels "stronger than ever" in his battle with his closest rival, Tosha Schareina, who expects to see him "psyched up in front of his fans". No. 1, Daniel Sanders, is eager to build on his victory in Portugal and turn the page on "the worst race I can ever remember racing", as he has dubbed his participation here in 2024. Ricky Brabec, the defending champion in Argentina, announced that this will be his "last year on a bike".
The leader of the car championship, Sébastien Loeb, hopes to "keep the momentum going" in his event debut. His closest pursuer, Nasser Al Attiyah, wants to add another trophy to his tally in his "first time with Dacia". Toyota are pinning their hopes on Seth Quintero. Ford's Carlos Sainz is another first-timer who wants to work to "prepare for the Dakar". His teammate Nani Roma, a former winner here, also feels he has "work to do". Yazeed Al Rajhi, the reigning champion in Argentina, hopes to get back to his level.
Live coverage starts half an hour before the first motorbike every day. Join us on the Race Center here for the FIM prologue tomorrow at 12:00 pm (UTC-3).
FIM: BENAVIDES BACK WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
Gearing up for his fifth appearance in the race, the 2026 Dakar winner and world championship leader, Luciano Benavides, has a special connection to the event. He made his rally-raid debut in the 2017 Desafío Ruta 40 YPF (DNF in stage 1), before returning in 2018 to seal a sixth-place finish. In 2023, the Husqvarna factory rider topped the W2RC standings here, securing his maiden world championship victory. Long story short, his home country, where he discovered the Dakar in 2009, is where it all began. Two years ago, the Argentinian crashed out of stage 1 with a broken right femur. His teammate Daniel Sanders, the reigning world champion and recent winner of the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal, has ninth place in 2024 as his lone result here. Honda are returning in force to assert their dominance in the Ruta, with ten victories in twelve editions. HRC's best performance so far was in the previous edition, locking out the top 4 with Ricky Brabec, Tosha Schareina, Adrien Van Beveren and Skyler Howes. All of them will be starting the prologue tomorrow.
FIM QUOTES: "ENJOY THE MOMENT IN MY LAST YEAR ON A BIKE"
Luciano Benavides (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing): "I feel stronger than ever, the Dakar set me free"
"Honestly, I don't feel under pressure, not as much as in 2023 or 2024. Winning the Dakar took a big weight off my shoulders. Portugal was a really tough one for my knee but I'm still in the lead and racing on home turf. Being the local star is really cool. I'll try and run a clean race in front of my fans. I'm all fired up. I did loads of physio sessions for my knee and I know I won't be thinking about it anymore once I'm on my bike. It's not 100% yet, but it'll be better than in the Dakar. But mentally, I'm at 100%, stronger than ever. The Dakar set me free. I wanted to win the Dakar and the championship. I'm in a different state of mind now."
Daniel Sanders (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing): "The worst race I can ever remember racing"
"I finished ninth here in 2024. It was probably the worst race I can ever remember racing. Kevin [Benavides] had had a crash two weeks before, Luciano [Benavides] crashed on day one, and then Sammy [Sunderland] stopped halfway through the race. So it was only me, and all I wanted to do was pack my bag and go home too. It was the last race on that bike from the early season, and we tried everything we could to try and get it better and better. As we know, the next race was the Rallye du Maroc and I won after a big change on the bike. It's more like a fresh start. I haven't won this race. Luciano rides well on home soil and I'm sure Tosha [Schareina], Ricky [Brabec] and Adrian [Van Beveren] are going to be fast, and also Skyler [Howes]. It's similar to the American desert. I think all the days will be tough. Especially the last stage is still a long stage. So it's going to come right down to the last stage."
Tosha Schareina (Monster Energy Honda HRC): "I reckon this edition will be different"
"It's always a pleasure to be in Argentina. It's my third time here, but I reckon this edition will be different, with a cocktail of different tracks, dunes, the desert, navigation… It'll be tough. Luciano [Benavides] still holds the championship lead and he'll be psyched up in front of his fans, but that's what I'm here for."
Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy Honda HRC): "We'll just have fun and enjoy the moment in my last year on a bike"
"We had good success here two years ago, but it's a different edition this year. I haven't been really focusing as much as I probably should be on this. After the Dakar, I decided it was my last Dakar. I just signed with the team for another year. This is going to be my final year and I'll try to make it the best push possible for the 2027 Dakar. From now until then, we're going to solely focus on the Dakar. That's more important to me than these rounds. But until then, I think we'll just have fun and enjoy the moment in my last year on a bike. After this, I'll try to find a different avenue, and maybe try to get into a car. You know, no American's won in a car."
Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy Honda HRC): "I want to enjoy this"
"I just inked a new two-year deal with Honda. My successes and failures have taught me that good things usually happen when I ride without stress and try to have fun. That's easy to say before the race but much harder to actually do when you're on the start line. But I've realised just how lucky I am to be a pro rider and I want to enjoy this."
Edgar Canet (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing): "The overall podium this time round"
"I've got fond memories of this race because my first interview with KTM, back in 2024, took place inside this paddock. It also yielded my first Rally2 podium. I'm much more experienced nowadays and I think I can achieve a decent result. Why not another podium finish, but on the overall podium this time round?"
Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports): "The top 10 is undecided"
"I love the terrain here. The vibe is always good and everybody loves motor sports. It's really special for us to be back here. Everybody's going super fast at the moment, so I think the top 10 is undecided. We love the open desert. Portugal didn't go as well as we had hoped because I'm not so good on that kind of terrain. But this kind of terrain definitely suits my style better. The racing is so exciting at the moment, and I think it's going to be a good show for everybody watching."
Nacho Cornejo (Hero MotoSports): "Almost in my backyard"
"This part of Argentina is not particularly like my home region, more like the Copiapó area, so I'm almost in my backyard. People here are very warm, especially with me. I'm glad to be back. It's a tough race, especially with the climate and the route. The open desert, which is expected to make up a bigger chunk of this edition, always plays into my hands."
Ruben Faria (Team Manager, Monster Energy Honda HRC): "Bruno will be spending the rest of the season with us"
"This week, we are fielding a new Rally2 rider. Like Preston Campbell, he and Honda go a long way back. Bruno Crivilin is a Brazilian rider with loads of enduro experience with Honda Brazil. Last year, he made his rally-raid debut with them in the national championship. Brazil is one of the manufacturer's biggest markets. Bruno will be spending the rest of the season with us. Our main goal in the future is to promote riders from our Rally2 team to our RallyGP squad instead of poaching them from other outfits."
Click here to see the list of FIM riders authorized to start
FIA: LOEB AS A DATE WITH FATE IN ARGENTINA
Sébastien Loeb holds the world championship lead for the third time in his career, now with 7 points in hand over Nasser Al Attiyah. He was fourth in the 2026 Dakar, where his teammate claimed the trophy, but victory in the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal catapulted him past Al Attiyah and his Dacia. The Frenchman has never been able to retain the W2RC lead after snatching it from the Qatari. Breaking that jinx is easier said than done, as Al Attiyah has been an absolute beast in Argentina. The Qatari clinched the Desafío Ruta 40 YPF in 2023 and came in second to Yazeed Al Rajhi in 2024, but he also bagged three South American editions of the Dakar (2011, 2015 and 2019) and a record 30 stage wins, including 12 in Argentina. Loeb scooped up 14 victories (8 in Argentina) in just four starts during that period in the history of the Dakar. These figures are a reminder that his lucky stars shine on him here. In his earlier WRC career, the nine-time world champion stood atop the podium of the Rally Argentina in Córdoba a whopping nine times. A sign of things to come?
FIA QUOTES*: "FACING OFF AGAINST SOLID COMPETITORS HELPS YOU TO IMPROVE"
Sébastien Loeb (The Dacia Sandriders): "I'm not familiar with this terrain"
"The Rally Argentina always went well for me, but that's not something I have in mind now. Pretty much the opposite, I'm not familiar with this terrain. Spending a decade racing around Córdoba in WRC is all nice and well, but we're not there. The tracks are different and the format is different. This is rally raid. At any rate, it's nice to be back in Argentina. It's been quite a while. We've been in the mix for several races now. I've almost always had the pace since I made the switch to rally raids, but there were times when success evaded us. Things have been going better in the last four or five races, so we'll try and keep it up."
Nasser Al Attiyah (The Dacia Sandriders): "The first time with Dacia"
"If you look at the South American editions of the Dakar and the Desafío Ruta 40, we've always had good results, so Argentina is very special to me. This week will be the first time with Dacia. Our car is really good, as we've shown this year winning the Dakar and winning Portugal with Séb' [Loeb]. And now we are here. It will be a big fight."
Nani Roma (Ford Racing): "We still have work to do"
"The first South American editions of the Dakar visited this area. I have very fond memories of the dunes of Nihuil. We've raced —and won— the Ruta 40 once, in 2013. Spaniards like me are twelve thousand kilometres from home, but we feel fine. There are countries where you feel better than in others, and this puts you in a different frame of mind. I don't know, it's difficult to put into words. But the race is going to be tough, there are some lightning-fast people in fantastic cars out there. It's awesome because facing off against solid competitors helps you to improve. We know we still have work to do, and competition is key."
Carlos Sainz (Ford Racing): "I had to do it as soon as possible"
"After what happened in Portugal, where we had to withdraw 50 kilometres into the race, it was important to enter a rally raid to be able to work with Dani Oliveras. It's not easy to switch to a new navigator when you've been racing with someone for years. I had to do it as soon as possible to prepare for the Dakar. Also, coming to Argentina is always special to me."
Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive Racing): "Back to our level from the first stage"
"Timo [Gottschalk] and I are ready, and we'll try our best. And we come back to our memory of when we won this race. Two years ago. We fought hard to win this race. Our target is to come back to our level from the first stage. I hope everything will go well with us. There'll be plenty of competition, a lot of drivers can win, but we have good experience and, therefore, a good shot at it."
* More FIA quotes tomorrow after the end of the verifications.
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