The 2016 Dakar Rally won’t be heading through Chile, but will instead be routed through Peru, while Argentina and Bolivia remain on the schedule.
The announcement that Chile would not be hosting the rally in 2015 came earlier this month; the country’s leaders said disastrous flooding meant they needed to focus on rebuilding infrastructure, not racing. As a result, Dakar organizers had to find a new route for the race, and now they’re headed through Peru.
Part of the reason for the routing through Peru is that it allows organizers to route the race through the country’s sand dunes. Racing through the dunes has always been a staple of the Dakar Rally since its origins in the Saharan wilds, and after the race left Africa, the dunes of Chile (home to the world’s highest dune, at 3/4 of a mile) were a highlight.
Dakar organizers seem to have been left scrambling to re-arrange their plans, but they managed to pull permission to race through Peru quickly enough, fortunately for racing fans.
The 2016 race will start in Peru, then head through Bolivia, and end in Argentina.
