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Rally Raid

Desafío Ruta 40 finish provides World Rally-Raid Championship fireworks

Elite rally-raid’s return to Argentina for Desafío Ruta 40 provided pulsating action from start to finish as the penultimate round of the World Rally-Raid Championship played out.
Written by Tim Sturtridge
5 min readUpdated on
Big names rose and fell in the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) rankings as the dunes between La Rioja and Salta laid their traps. Let’s find out which racers dealt with the unique challenges of Desafío Ruta 40 better than the rest…
Watch the highlights from the racing in the player above.

That winning feeling

Seeing Nasser Al-Attiyah taking victory in the T1 car class of the W2RC is nothing new, but the Qatari didn’t have things all his own way in Argentina. Five punctures on Stage 2 put the reigning Dakar and W2RC champion’s rally in serious doubt. However, the sand racing expert was able to bring his Toyota GR DKR Hilux T1+ to the finish line that day. Then it was back to business for Al-Attiyah and co-driver Mathieu Baumel who won the remaining three stages to claim victory at Desafío Ruta 40 for the first time. Al-Attiyah now leads the championship by 51 points after three wins from four rounds as he plots his next assault on the Dakar Rally.
“It’s always a good feeling to win and now I only need a few more points in Morocco for the championship,” Al-Attiyah said after the rally. “It was great to be racing here in Argentina again and I’m already looking forward to coming back next year to defend the title.”

Riding shotgun brings its rewards

While Al-Attiyah still needs four more points in Morocco next month to confirm his W2RC driver's title, Baumel has already done enough this season to retain his W2RC co-driver's crown.
“The rally is done and we’ve got first place!” Baumel beamed. “We picked up lots of points for the championship and made some more great memories of racing here in Argentina. The landscape was amazing!"
Nasser Al-Attiyah & Mathieu Baumel at the finish line of Desafio Ruta 40 2023 in Salta, Argentina on September 1, 2023.

Baumel and Al-Attiyah celebrate their latest success

© Kin Marcin / Red Bull Content Pool

W2RC standings after Round Four – T1 Class

Rank

Person

Result

2

Yazeed Al Rajhi

138

3

Juan Cruz Yacopini

109

Things go without a hitch for Mitch

It’s now back-to-back wins for Mitch Guthrie Jr. in the T3 class of the W2RC. The Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team USA presented by BFGoodrich driver led in Argentina from start to finish to add Desafío Ruta 40 victory to his win at Mexico’s Sonora Rally in April. Guthrie Jr. and co-driver Kellon Walch had the pace in their MCE5 machine, prepped by Wevers Sports, to get ahead of their rivals on the prologue stage and maintain top spot through to the finish line.
“It was a great rally. We had our ups and downs for sure, but we kept it together all the way.” Guthrie Jr. said at the finish line. “We’re stoked with the overall win, that’s two in a row now. It was my first time racing here so we were learning a lot as we went.”
Mitch Guthrie Jr. and Kellon Walch performs at the 5th stage of Desafio Ruta 40 2023 in Salta, Argentina on September 1, 2023.

Mitch Guthrie Jr. makes it two from two

© Kin Marcin / Red Bull Content Pool

It's a three-way fight for the T3 title

Guthrie Jr. now finds himself leading the hunt for overall W2RC glory ahead of team-mates Seth Quintero and Austin ‘AJ’ Jones. A broken intercooler on Stage 4 took Quintero and co-driver Dennis Zenz out of the running for the Desafío Ruta 40 podium, but a win on Stage 5 saw useful points added to their W2RC total. Jones and co-driver Gustavo Gugelmin also put points on the board thanks to their third-place finish in the T3 category in Argentina. The points difference between the three American drivers is now just nine points, meaning everything is still all to play for at next month's Rallye du Maroc.
Seth Quintero is seen at the 1st stage of Desafio Ruta 40 2023 in La Rioja, Argentina on August 28, 2023.

Seth Quintero is always ready to race

© Kin Marcin / Red Bull Content Pool

We’re going to come back fighting at the next rally. We’re not completely out of the championship so we’ll go all out in Morocco

W2RC standings after Round Four – T3 Class

The battle for the podium goes deep in T3

Cristina Gutiérrez and co-driver Pablo Moreno of the Red Bull Can-Am Factory Team clinched overall second spot in T3 class while the duo’s team-mates Chaleco López/Juan Pablo Latrach finished fourth overall.
Mattias Ekström and co-driver Emil Bergkvist added to their T3 experience in Argentina and would have surely finished on the overall podium if not for a mechanical mishap on Stage 3.
Cristina Gutiérrez is seen at the 1st stage of Desafio Ruta 40 2023 in La Rioja, Argentina on August 28, 2023.

Cristina Gutiérrez scored another podium finish

© Kin Marcin / Red Bull Content Pool

We’re happy with our result, second place overall. We made a good race here with no problems, no punctures

Heavy Price to be paid in the dunes

Two-time Dakar winner Toby Price arrived in Argentina leading the bike category of the W2RC, but leaves having slipped down into second place overall. A broken shock absorber on Stage 2 threatened to take Price out of the race completely. It was the Esprit de Cour of team-mate Matthias Walkner that allowed Price to continue as the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing riders carried out repairs on the track. Price was able to carry on and finish the stage, but Walkner’s race was run. Sam Sunderland of Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing was another high profile rider who was unable to complete Desafío Ruta 40.
“It’s been a rough week.” Price said at the end of a long week. “Unfortunately day two was a really big hindrance to us. It’s not a great result and it’s not great for the championship. All in all, we’re happy to get the rally done and get out in one piece.”
Toby Price is seen at the 1st stage of Desafio Ruta 40 2023 in La Rioja, Argentina on August 28, 2023.

Price puts on a brave face

© Kin Marcin / Red Bull Content Pool

The brothers work it out

Despite losing more than an hour on Stage 2, Price battled back and even ended the rally on a high as he set the fastest time on the fifth and final stage. The Australian now trails Husqvarna rider Luciano Benavides in the W2RC rankings by nine points. Luciano claimed a crucial 25 points by being the first W2RC rider to reach Salta and the hometown hero was congratulated on the finish line by his big brother Kevin Benavides.
Kevin Benavides & Max Benavidesc celebrate during the prize giving ceremony at Desafio Ruta 40 2023 in Salta, Argentina on September 1, 2023.

Luciano and Kevin Benavides in Salta

© Kin Marcin / Red Bull Content Pool

W2RC standings after Round Four – Bike Class

Rank

Person

Result

1

Luciano Benavides

80

3

Adrien van Beveren

66

Where next for the World Rally-Raid Championship?

Next up for the World Rally-Raid Championship convoy is the fifth and final round of the season. The 2023 Rallye du Maroc gets going on Friday, October 13 with a Prologue Stage before the chequered flag flies on Wednesday, October 18. Champions will crowned in Merzouga.

Part of this story

Nasser Al-Attiyah

Nasser Al-Attiyah is the sporting hero of his native Qatar – he's won the Dakar Rally on five occasions while also excelling in skeet shooting.

QatarQatar

Mathieu Baumel

Mathieu Baumel is one of the best co-drivers in the world of rally-raid with multiple Dakar Rally wins alongside Nasser Al-Attiyah.

FranceFrance

Mitch Guthrie Jr.

Following in the footsteps of his famous father, American driver Mitch Guthrie Jr. already has some impressive race wins on his résumé.

United StatesUnited States

Seth Quintero

A world champion before he was old enough to legally drive, Seth Quintero is making history at the toughest rally on the planet.

United StatesUnited States

Austin Jones

American off-road driver Austin 'AJ' Jones won the SSV T4 category of the Dakar Rally in 2022 and then followed that up with victory in the T3 class in 2023.

United StatesUnited States

Dennis Zenz

If you need to find your way through stages of the World Rally-Raid Championship and the Dakar, then German co-driver Dennis Zenz is your man.

GermanyGermany

Cristina Gutiérrez

A naturally gifted driver, Spain's Cristina Gutiérrez is only the second woman to win the Dakar Rally after claiming Challenger class victory in 2024.

SpainSpain

Francisco Lopez

A master of the sand dunes, Chile's Francisco López loves nothing more than testing his skills at the famous Dakar Rally.

ChileChile

Mattias Ekström

Rallycross star Mattias Ekström is one of the most versatile drivers in motorsports, competing and winning across multiple disciplines.

SwedenSweden

Toby Price

Australian off-road and enduro motorcycle racer Toby Price has won a host of national championships and is a two-time Dakar winner.

AustraliaAustralia

Matthias Walkner

A former motocross rider, Austria's Matthias Walkner switched to rally-raid in 2015 and just three years later won the legendary Dakar Rally.

AustriaAustria

Sam Sunderland

Sam Sunderland is a rally raid biker with GasGas Factory Racing. He's also a two-time Dakar winner and a true international star.

United KingdomUnited Kingdom

Kevin Benavides

Winning the Dakar Rally in 2021 made Kevin Benavides the bike event’s first South American winner – and his second title in 2023 made him a legend.

ArgentinaArgentina