2023 Desafio Ruta 40: From The Checkered Flag’s Newsroom

After four months off, the World Rally-Raid Championship returned to action with the Desafío Ruta 40 in Argentina. As we have done all season, The Checkered Flag covered the race in extensive detail in the months leading up to and during the rally itself.

Missed any stories? Get caught up below!

Pre-race stories

24 November 2022: 2023 Road to Dakar races include W2RC legs, South Africa 20 January: TCF‘s Dakar Rally newsroom 7 March: TCF‘s Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge newsroom 17 March: 2023 Desafío Ruta 40 route revealed 2 May: TCF‘s Sonora Rally newsroom 2 June: Joaquín Debeljuh joins Kove Moto for Desafío Ruta 40 10 June: Paraplegic rider Juan Nimo to run Desafío Ruta 40 18 June: Nicolás Cavigliasso moves up to T3 for Argentina, Dakar 2024 27 June: Skyler Howes, Husqvarna Factory Racing part ways 30 June: CaNav champion Iván Martín entering Desafío Ruta 40 2 July: Gustavo Gallego entering Desafío Ruta 40 in SSV 2 July: Crash injuries force David Tieppo to skip Desafío Ruta 40 3 July: 2021 Argentinian champion Marcio Yampa to run Desafío Ruta 40 4 July: Sebastián Urquía enters Desafío Ruta 40 10 July: Martín Franco entering Desafío Ruta 40 13 July: SARR T3.2 winner Diego Blas entering Desafio Ruta 40 13 July: Matías Innocente to run Desafío Ruta 40 13 July: Carlos Llibre, ALL1 to tackle Desafío Ruta 40 14 July: Desafío Ruta 40 adds YPF title sponsorship, Desafío Ansenuza 15 July: Jeremías Pascual enters Desafío Ruta 40 on Dakar 2024 mission 19 July: Nicolás Etchamendi-designed SSV to début in Desafío Ruta 40 21 July: Now-healthy Michael Docherty returning to W2RC in Argentina 24 July: Bahrain Raid Xtreme confirms no Argentina, focusing on Morocco and Dakar 2024 1 August: Kevin Benavides to miss Desafío Ruta 40 with wrist injury 7 August: Rokas Baciuška skipping Desafío Ruta 40 18 August: 99 on entry list

Overall winners

Class	Number	Competitor	Team	Time	Recap
T1	200	Nasser Al-Attiyah	Toyota Gazoo Racing	15:10:03	Recap
T3	302	Mitch Guthrie	Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team	16:22:31	Recap
T4	403	Gustavo Gallego*	South Racing Can-Am	18:34:37	Recap
RallyGP	68	Tosha Schareina*	Honda Team	15:58:46	Recap
Rally2	21	Bradley Cox	BAS World KTM Racing Team	17:01:01	Recap
Rally3	122	Ardit Kurtaj	Xraids Experience	23:15:45	Recap
Quad	152	Manuel Andújar	7240 Team	19:24:30	Recap
Open Auto	650	Blas Zapag*	Copetrol Rally	23:06:34	Recap
Open T3	670	Jeremías Gonzalez Ferioli*	Ferioli Racing Team	17:34:31	Recap
Open T4	678	Juan José Semino*	Xcorpion Rally Racing	20:59:00	Recap
Open Moto	608	Rodrigo de Abreu Sallum*	MED Racing Team	22:36:24	Recap
Open Quad	623	Santiago Rostan*	Pampa Rental Rally Team	25:28:33	Recap
Road to Dakar Auto	678	Juan José Semino*	Xcorpion Rally Racing	20:59:00	Recap
Road to Dakar Moto	69	Juan Santiago Rostan*	Pampa Rental Rally Team	25:28:33	Recap

* – Not competing in World Rally-Raid Championship

Stage recaps

Stage	Date	Overall Cars Winner	Overall Bikes Winner	Recap
Prologue	27 August	Nasser Al-Attiyah	Adrien Van Beveren	Recap
Stage #1	28 August	Nasser Al-Attiyah	Tosha Schareina*	Recap
Stage #2	29 August	Juan Cruz Yacopini	Tosha Schareina*	Recap
Stage #3	30 August	Nasser Al-Attiyah	Tosha Schareina*	Recap
Stage #4	31 August	Nasser Al-Attiyah	Luciano Benavides	Recap
Stage #5	1 September	Nasser Al-Attiyah	Adrien Van Beveren	Recap