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The Dakar Rally is the worlds toughest Motorsport event, covering 8,000 miles of challenging terrain!  Most students could only dream of taking part in this grueling race. Each day offers different tests for the drivers with some stages being around 560 miles. That is a lot of driving! This year Red Bull Offroad are back in force to try and fight off the competition and win the Dakar Rally in their respective categories  See the map below for the complete route from Lima to Tucumán to Santiago:

parcours-carte

We are going to try and keep you updated on the progress of the team during the Dakar Rally, but for up to date information check out the Red Bull Dakar Site.

 

 

If you want to keep up to date on Red Bull’s day to day Progress, you can follow the latest action on the blogs below:

Over at Social Student, we think what Red Bull is doing is pretty god damn cool! They compete in a ridiculous amount of non-mainstream sports and fund projects such as The Red Bull Stratos mission. We would definitely recommend checking out the video serious from the 2013 Dakar Rally which can be found here. We will be updating this post over the next few days so keep checking back!

The latest Press Release can be seen below:

Qatar Red Bull Rally Team goes from strength to strength in heated Dakar 2013

 The Qatar Red Bull Rally Team has managed to maintain a triumphant lead, following a heated four days of action in the initial stages of the 2013 Dakar Rally.

This year’s event, which will see car, bike, quad and lorry drivers tackle 8,500 kilometres of roads, tracks and harsh desert terrain in South America, has got off to a blistering start. And Red Bull’s team have been consistent frontrunners thus far.

After days of technical scruitineering and a visit from Peruvian president Ollanta Humala, the race got underway on January 5th and Red Bull’s Carlos Sainz was quick to make his mark on the track. The Spaniard clocked the fastest time of the 13km opening stage on the outskirts of Pisco with 7 minutes 40 seconds.

“This first stage was like a little taste of what we can expect in the coming days. Nevertheless it was good to start the Dakar by winning the first stage because it gives the whole team confidence,” he said.

Sainz was not content to rest on his laurels, however, and overcame navigational problems to secure victory in day two of the event. His Red Bull teammate Nasser Al-Attiyah was similarly troubled and a lost waypoint in the desert cost him and co-driver Lucas Cruz valuable minutes.

Day three of Dakar 2013 saw Al-Attiyah – who was victorious in the 2011 rally – come back with a vengeance, securing his first stage win of this year’s rally and his 15th special overall. However, the Peruvian desert proved too much for teammate Sainz’s vehicle after it succumbed to electrical problems and a puncture between Pisco and Nazca.

Two-time World Rally Championship winner Sainz was plagued by technical problems on day four, losing out on hours of time after a fuel problem left him stuck in the sand. Al-Attiyah was unafraid to pick up the slack, however, and managed to achieve his second consecutive stage win.

Commenting on the victory, the Qatari driver hailed the remarkable technical performance of Team Red Bull’s vehicles.

“Both of our Buggies have won stages at this Dakar and I think that is a remarkable achievement considering we have only had the car built for five months. The great thing is that I can feel my Buggy getting stronger and stronger as the race goes on,” he said.

The Qatar Red Bull Rally Team has certainly got off to a strong start in Dakar 2013, but the race is still anyone’s game. Competitors have barely scratched the surface of the gruelling course and will be eagerly awaiting the finish line in Santiago, Chile on January 19th.

About Dakar 2013

Dakar 2013 marks the 34th running of the popular event and racing commenced on January 5th. Competitors in four classes – car, bike, quad and truck – will compete over 8,500 kilometres of roads, tracks and dunes – starting in Lima, Peru and finishing in Santiago, Chile on January 19th.

About the Qatar Red Bull Rally Team

Nasser Al-Attiyah 

Born in Qatar in 1970, Nasser al-Attiyah has enjoyed a spectacular sporting career. Not many athletes enjoy international success in more than one discipline, but Nasser has done just that. On top of his achievements as a rally driver, the Qatari has also represented his country at three Olympic Games in Skeet Shooting – taking a bronze medal at London 2012.

Co-driver Lucas Cruz

 Lucas Cruz is a graduate of the Volkswagen team that dominated the first editions of the Dakar Rally in South America. The Catalonian hails from Barcelona and has been taking on the role of co-pilot since he turned 20-years-old. For the past decade Lucas has been focusing on cross-country rallies and took part in his first Dakar Rally in 2006.

Carlos Sainz

Carlos Sainz has made more World Rally Championship starts than any other driver. ‘El Matador’ was twice crowned WRC World Champion, taking the title for Toyota in 1990 and 1992, and was runner-up a further four times. He has notched up some spectacular podiums since switching to cross-country rally driving, including winning the 2010 Dakar Rally and the 2009 Silk Way event in Russia.

Co-driver Timo Gottschalk

 Cars and motorsport have always been part of Timo’s life. During his military service he was a driver, later in life he also worked as a mechanic before earning a reputation as one of the best co-drivers within the sport of rally. Timo’s first taste of the Dakar Rally came in 2007 when he navigated on behalf of Dieter Depping. After a few races with Dieter this co-driver was then recruited by Nasser Al-Attiyah.

Finally Check out the image gallery below for some Social Student EXCLUSIVE shots: