Pablo Copetti will make his next World Rally-Raid Championship start on home soil as he plans to enter the Desafío Ruta 40 in Argentina.
Despite not winning any stages, Copetti finished third in the Quad category at the season-opening Dakar Rally and exited as the points leader as the top two Alexandre Giroud and Francisco Moreno Flores were not competing for the championship. It was Copetti’s eleventh try at Dakar, with the third tying his previous best set in 2017 and 2021. He made his Dakar début in 2010 when the Rally was held in South America and ran through Argentina.
Copetti raced in the Desafío Ruta 40 through the most recent edition in 2018. He finished third in class at the 2017 race.
“I love this race, it is the most beautiful next to the Dakar,” said Copetti about the DR40. “We will be there in August!”
While he currently competes under the United States flag, he was born in Argentina before becoming an American citizen in 2019.
He did not race the second leg of the W2RC at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, which dropped him to second in the standings behind Laisvydas Kancius by six points. The margin will grow after Round #3 as Copetti is also skipping this week’s Sonora Rally while Kancius is entered. Abdulaziz Ahli won the Quads in Abu Dhabi.
The Desafío Ruta 40 will run from 28 August to 1 September.