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Dakar 2017 Reduced to 12 Stages, Includes Paraguay

The Dakar Rally 2017 will only be comprised of 12 stages, official sources announce. With Peru and Chile no longer parts of this rally, the cross-country competition had a rather rough time until Paraguay decided to join the fun, alongside Argentina and Bolivia.
2017 Dakar generic route 3 photos
Photo: dakar.com
Dakar 2017Dakar 2017
The 2017 edition will thus be shorter than the previous editions. The Dakar organizers haven't revealed the length of the stages and the total distance of the rally, but this info is expected soon.

Unlike in other editions, when the start and the finish were in the same city, the 39th Dakar is not going to be a loop. The 2017 Dakar starts in Paraguay's capital Asuncion on January 2 and will end in the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires on the 14th of the same month. Funny thing, the Bolivian capital of La Paz was chosen as the place for the rest day on January 8, at an altitude of 3,600 meters (11,810 ft).

Maybe thanks to the Dakar, the world will stop confusing Paraguay and Uruguay,” half-joked Ms. Marcela Bacigalupo, Minister of Tourism in Paraguay. The Paraguayan officials also acknowledged that the Dakar Rally is “without a doubt be the biggest international event the country has ever hosted.” However, Paraguay is not a total stranger to the Dakar, as the country's Nelson Sanabria ranked 4th in the quad category two years ago.

No less than seven of the 12 stages of the 2017 Dakar will be hosted in Argentina, and four in Bolivia, with Paraguay only being included with the debut stage

The registration for the 2017 Dakar will open on May 15 and will close July 15 for the bike and quad categories. September brings the competitor seminar in Paris, France, with all registrations closing on the first of November. Another competitor seminar will take place in South America in early November, followed by a route and field presentation in Paris in mid-November. At the end of the month, the European vehicles embark for South America.

This is what the 2017 Dakar looks like:

  • 02/01: Asunción (Par)-Resistencia (Arg)
  • 03/01: Resistencia-San Miguel de Tucuman (Arg)
  • 04/01: San Miguel de Tucumán-San Salvador de Jujuy (Arg)
  • 05/01: San Salvador de Jujuy-Tupiza (Bol)
  • 06/01: Tupiza-Oruro (Bol)
  • 07/01: Oruro-La Paz (Bol)
  • 08/01: Rest day at La Paz
  • 09/01: La Paz-Uyuni (Bol)
  • 10/01: Uyuni-Salta (Arg)
  • 11/01: Salta-Chilecito (Arg)
  • 12/01: Chilecito-San Juan (Arg)
  • 13/01: San Juan-Río Cuarto (Arg)
  • 14/01: Río Cuarto-Buenos Aires (Arg).
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