THE DACIA SANDRIDERS AIMING TO ADVANCE IN ARGENTINA

The Dacia Sandriders is set for a mission of discovery when the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship stops off in South America for the halfway point of the season from May 24-29.

Leading the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) for Drivers', Navigators' and Manufacturers' after two action-packed rounds, The Dacia Sandriders makes its debut on Desafío Ruta 40 aiming for more success with its trio of sustainable fuelled Ultimate category entries.

Following its standout victories on January's Dakar Rally and Rally-Raid Portugal in March, The Dacia Sandriders counts on an unchanged line-up of drivers and navigators for its first visit to Argentina.

Reigning world champion Lucas Moraes makes the short trip from his native Brazil for Desafío Ruta 40 when he will be joined by German navigator Dennis Zenz. They head to Argentina boosted by finishing fourth on Rally-Raid Portugal, their best finish since they joined The Dacia Sandriders for the 2026 season.

Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah continues his partnership with Belgian and fellow 2026 Dakar Rally winner Fabian Lurquin aiming to hit back from a challenging Rally-Raid Portugal. Al-Attiyah won Desafío Ruta 40 in 2023, while three of his six Dakar Rally wins to date came when the event was based in South America between 2009-2019.

French pair Sébastien Loeb and Édouard Boulanger complete The Dacia Sandriders entry on Desafío Ruta 40 and start the event leading the W2RC Drivers' and Navigators' championships respectively following their Rally-Raid Portugal victory.

Desafío Ruta 40, which starts and finishes in the western Argentine city of San Juan, is back on the W2RC schedule for its 13th edition having last hosted the series in 2024. For the first time since 2017, the route extends to San Rafael in the province of Mendoza complete with its ever-spectacular landscape.

Covering a total of 2993 kilometres, including 1726 against the clock over five stages, Desafío Ruta 40 challenges crews on varying terrain, including sand dunes, rivers, salt flats and high-altitude mountainous tracks.

Desafío Ruta 40 takes place at a key point of the season. With two events remaining afterwards, the focus for The Dacia Sandriders will be on maximising points in all three championships during a hugely challenging event against strong opposition.

The three Dacia Sandrider cars contesting Desafío Ruta 40 are powered by ARAMCO sustainable fuel and equipped with BFGoodrich tyres.

VIEW FROM THE TOP: TIPHANIE ISNARD, TEAM PRINCIPAL

With back-to-back victories in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship this season, The Dacia Sandriders enters Desafío Ruta 40 for the first time on a high. Team Principal Tiphanie Isnard looks ahead to Argentina.

We are delighted to be heading to Argentina, a true land of rally-raid, and to discover terrain that is still new for The Dacia Sandriders. It will be a complete challenge, with salt flats, rivers and a crossing of the Andes at altitudes of over 3000 metres. All the ingredients are there for a demanding event. The team has put a huge amount of energy into preparing for this round, with a particularly tight turnaround: barely three weeks between the Dakar Rally and Portugal, then only two weeks to ship all the equipment to Argentina. Despite that, everyone has pulled together to be ready, with the cars fully rebuilt in record time. We approach this round with the ambition of continuing our winning momentum after two consecutive victories and of maintaining our position at the top of the championship. We know the challenge will be a tough one, but we also have strong memories here: Sébastien from WRC, Nasser from the Dakar Rally, Lucas on his home continent. For me there is always something very special about experiencing the incredible passion of the Argentinian fans.

DESAFÍO RUTA 40 2026: ROUTE IN SHORT

A mainly gravel-based opening stage on Monday May 25 takes crews on a loop starting and finishing in San Juan with sections through dried riverbeds part of the challenge. The event heads south into Mendoza for stage two on Tuesday May 26 and to the second bivouac in San Rafael via a route featuring gravel, salt flats and sand with asphalt and dunes thrown in for good measure. Covering a total of 720 kilometres it's the longest day of Desafío Ruta 40. A notable feature of the event's third stage on Wednesday May 27 is the crossing of the El Nihuil dunes ahead of a high-speed section on salt flats followed by a closing section through mountain-based tracks. At 409 kilometres, no stage is longer in terms of the timed distance. Stage four on Thursday May 28 peaks at 3200 metres as the event heads back to San Juan via the Andes mountains, complete with technical, rocky sections and fesh-fesh sand. There's more altitude and riverbeds to overcome on the fifth and final stage on Friday May 29 with roads more akin to World Rally Championship-style tests.

NAVIGATOR NOTES: ZENZ GETS INTO THE ZONE IN ARGENTINA

Dennis Zenz is a fan of the Argentine atmosphere but wary of the tough test in store during Desafío Ruta 40.

I'm really looking forward to be going back racing for the third round of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship in Argentina. I'm really happy to be back with The Dacia Sandriders' family, with three amazing crews. And I'm happy to be back in Argentina, a special place with so many passionate fans, so many people along the route and the stages cheering for our sport, which is really amazing. It's going to be a very tough event because we have all types of terrain, not only rally stages, but also dunes, camel grass, it's a proper cross-country event so it's going to be very demanding for the crews and the cars. For us the target will be a win again for the Dacia family to maintain the lead in the Manufacturers' championship, but also to be pushing in the Drivers' and Navigators' standings. We're very excited, everyone is very motivated to do a good job, and we can't wait to tackle the stages in Argentina.

KEY QUOTES

NASSER AL-ATTIYAH (QATAR), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS

After retiring on the third stage in Portugal, we start in Argentina aiming to score big points and reach the lead of the championship again. I know from competing in Argentina before that it won't be easy, but the Dacia Sandrider is a very good car and very capable of handling the challenging terrain and the variety of stage conditions we will face. I am confident of a good event.

SÉBASTIEN LOEB (FRANCE), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS

I'm happy to be returning to Argentina because I've always had very good memories from competing there. It's a country I really enjoy, with a great atmosphere, interesting rallies, nice stages and very warm and enthusiastic fans, which is always motivating for us. We've also enjoyed some good results in Argentina in the past, so we hope to have a strong race, score important points and keep building on our position in the world championship.

LUCAS MORAES (BRAZIL), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS

I'm very motivated for the Argentina round. It's demanding terrain that combines precise navigation with fast and technical sections, exactly the kind of challenge we look for in the W2RC. We raced there in 2024 and managed to win a stage, with a lot of people watching us. We arrive well prepared, with a strong rhythm from the last events. The goal is clear: to be consistent every day and fight for the top positions. Argentina always delivers a tough race, but it's also one of the most special rounds on the calendar.

THE DACIA SANDRIDERS DESAFÍO RUTA 40 2026 LINE-UP

#299: Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL)

#219: Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Édouard Boulanger (FRA)

#223: Lucas Moraes (BRA)/Dennis Zenz (GER)

DESAFÍO RUTA 40 2026 KEY INFORMATION

Starts: San Juan, Argentina, May 24

Finishes: San Juan, Argentina, May 29

Stages: 5

Stage distance: 1726 kilometres

Total distance: 2993 kilometres

THE DACIA SANDRIDERS: RESULTS SO FAR IN 2026

Dakar Rally (January 3-17), W2RC round 1 of 5

1st Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL), 48h56m53s

4th Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Édouard Boulanger (FRA), +15m10s

7th Lucas Moraes (BRA)/Dennis Zenz (GER), +47m50s

11th Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP)/Pablo Moreno (ESP), +1h29m49s

Rally-Raid Portugal (March 17-22), W2RC round 2 of 5

1st Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Édouard Boulanger (FRA), 10h58m52s

4th Lucas Moraes (BRA)/Dennis Zenz (GER), +4m36s

19th Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL), +18h19m03s

FIA WORLD RALLY-RAID CHAMPIONSHIP PROVISIONAL STANDINGS

Drivers after round 2 of 5: 1 Sébastien Loeb 87 points; 2 Nasser Al-Attiyah 80; 3 Seth Quintero 61; 4 Mattias Ekström 53; 5 Lucas Moraes 53; 6 João Ferreira 46; etc.

Navigators after round 2 of 5: 1 Édouard Boulanger 87 points; 2 Fabian Lurquin 80; 3 Andrew Short 61; 4 Emil Bergkvist 53; 5 Dennis Zenz 53; 6 Filipe Palmeiro 46; etc.

Manufacturers after round 2 of 5: 1 The Dacia Sandriders 250 points; 2 Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC 167; 3 Ford Racing 129; etc.

DESAFÍO RUTA 40 2026: THE BIG NUMBER

40: Round three of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship gets its name from the Ruta Nacional 40, Argentina's longest and most famous highway running adjacent to the Andes mountains.

MORE INFORMATION

All The Dacia Sandriders' media information is available at the dedicated Sportity media channel. Password: THEDACIASANDRIDERSMEDIA2026

Official pictures are available on our media platform:

https://media.thesandriders.com

Password: DaciaSandRDRS2025