Photos | 2018 Dakar Rally: High-octane offroading down South America

The best in images from the 40th edition of the Dakar Rally, a nearly 9,000 kilometer run exposing competitors to an array of testing terrains spanning 14 stages across Peru, Bolivia and finally Argentina.

Updated on: Jan 19, 2018 1:38 PM IST

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Diego Martin Duplessis, rides his Honda through a pack of llamas between La Paz and Uyuni, Bolivia. 337 vehicles kicked off the 2018 Dakar Rally -- the world’s second largest motoring event after Formula 1-- on January 6, embarking on a fortnight through the South American wilderness, ripping through deserts, high altitude terrain and sprawling coastlines. (Franck Fife / Pool via AP)

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Sam Sunderland, of United Kingdom, pushes his KTM motorbike during technical checks prior to the 2018 Dakar Rally at Las Palmas airbase in Lima, Peru. The 40th edition of the Dakar Rally, the tenth in South America, runs south along the Pacific coast, crossing Bolivia to finish in Cordoba, Argentina on January 20. (Ricardo Mazalan / AP)

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Fans show their support as Peugeot's Carlos Sainz and co-driver Lucas Cruz pass by, on the first day of the 2018 Dakar Rally, ahead of the Lima-Pisco Stage 1. (Ernesto Benavides / AFP)

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Drivers make their way through a crowd lining urban Lima on January 6, 2018. The rally began as a thought in 1977, when Thierry Sabine was lost in the Libyan desert during the Abidjan-Nice Rally. Rescued, he returned to France enthralled by the landscape and charted a route starting in Paris, continuing to Algiers and crossing Agadez before finishing at Dakar. (Ernesto Benavides / AFP)

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The Mitsubishi rally car driven by Cristina Gutierrez Herrero and Gabriel Moiset Ferrer, both of Spain, flips over between Lima and Pisco. (Ricardo Mazalan / AP)

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Peugeot's Sebastien Loeb and co-driver Daniel Elena of France compete during the Stage 1 of the 2018 Dakar Rally. Sabine coined a motto for his inspiration that still holds true for drivers four decades on: “A challenge for those who go. A dream for those who stay behind.” (Franck Fife / AFP)

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A spectator gets comfortable on the sand as a driver passes by during the 2018 Dakar Rally Stage 2 in and around the Peruvian town of Pisco. Nearly 80% of participants annually are amateurs with the rest representing professional teams. (Franck Fife / AFP)

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Austrian biker Matthias Walkner powers through pristine sands contrasted by the Pacific on his KTM during Stage 2 around Pisco. (Franck Fife / AFP)

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French biker Antoine Meo on his KTM during the 2018 Dakar Rally Stage 2. 190 motorbikes and quads took part in this year’s run. (Franck Fife / AFP)

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The car driven by Argentinian Alicia Reina and co-driver Carlos Pelayo catches fire during Stage 3 of the Dakar 2018 between Pisco and San Juan de Marcona, Peru. Both drivers escaped uninjured. (Franck Fife / AFP)

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Balys Bardauskas of Lithuania competes during Stage 3 of the Dakar 2018 between Pisco and San Juan de Marcona, Peru. (Franck Fife / AFP)

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Competitors line up on motorcycles and quadbikes for the Stage 4 of the rally along the beach in San Juan de Marcona, Peru. 54 nationalities were represented this year with two Indian contingents from Hero and Sherco TVS. (Ricardo Mazalan / AP)

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Dune buggies and rally cars zip past the coastline in and around San Juan De Marcona, Peru. (Franck Fife / AFP)

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Sam Sunderland gets ready for Stage 4 next to his KTM. Sunderland quit the race after he suffered an accident and had to be evacuated later during the stage. (Andres Stapff / REUTERS)

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Peugeot's Daniel Elena (R), from Monaco, gestures on the ground after getting injured when he and French driver Sebastien Loeb ran into sand during Stage 5. Loeb was forced to pull out of the rally after the accident. (Franck Fife / AFP)

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Peugeot's Stephane Peterhansel and Jean Paul Cottret seen bottom as the team’s Spanish drivers Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz are stuck in the dunes of Tanaca during between San Juan De Marcona and Arequipa. The fifth stage was won by defending champion Peterhansel. (Franck Fife / AFP)

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2WD driver Eugenio Amos and co-driver Sebastien Delaunay plough through the dunes of Tanaca. (Franck Fife / AFP)

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A fan takes a selfie as cars pass by during Stage 6 from Arequipa to La Paz, Bolivia . (Andres Stapff / REUTERS)

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Argentinian biker Franco Caimi is thrown off his bike during a crash into heavy mud during Stage 7 between La Paz and Uyuni, Bolivia. (Franck Fife / AFP)

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Cyril Despres and David Castera of France drive their Peugeot through a trough between La Paz and Uyuni. (Franck Fife / Pool / REUTERS)

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Joan Barreda Bort of Spain, gets air on his Honda motorbike during Stage 8 between Uyuni and Tupiza, Bolivia. (Ricardo Mazalan / AP)

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Toyota's Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar and his co-driver Mathieu Baumel of France reach a high altitude pass during Stage 10 between Salta and Belen, Argentina. (Franck Fife / AFP)

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Russians Eduard Nikolaev and Evgeny Yakovlev, race their Kamaz as Mikko Hirvonen, of Finland, and co-driver Andreas Schulz, of Germany, work on their Mini during Stage 11 between Belen and Chilecito/Fiambala, Argentina. (Ricardo Mazalan / AP)

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Peugeot's Carlos Sainz and co-driver Lucas Cruz compete during Stage 12 between Chilecito and San Juan, Argentina. (Franck Fife / AFP)