The thirteenth edition of the Desafío Ruta 40 YPF featured an unusually long final stage: a 340-kilometre special stage loop around San Juan, climbing above 3,000 metres with technical riverbeds in the closing section. Several riders and drivers still had work to do right to the end, producing a spectacular conclusion in both the FIA and FIM standings.
Daniel Sanders completed his collection on two wheels by winning his first Desafío Ruta 40, while in the car category Seth Quintero claimed his very first Ultimate class victory in a tense duel with Henk Lategan and Nasser Al Attiyah. History was written in several other categories too, most notably by Puck Klaassen, who became the first female driver to lead the W2RC standings.
Sanders gets the job done
Daniel Sanders (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) had said before the start that the Desafío Ruta 40 was the only event on the current W2RC calendar he had never won. Six days later, he has put that right. The Australian also won the final stage, his fourth of the week, and was crowned overall winner with a margin of 12 minutes and 9 seconds over Tosha Schareina (Monster Energy Honda HRC) and 18 minutes and 4 seconds over Ricky Brabec.
Schareina started first on the road and needed a miracle to close the gap. The Spaniard led the stage for a long time but ultimately finished third, 1 minute and 49 seconds behind Sanders. It earns him second place at the Desafío Ruta 40 for the second year in a row. Brabec, who battled illness throughout the week, had Luciano Benavides breathing down his neck. He briefly led after 87 kilometres but ultimately conceded 50 seconds to stage winner Sanders and finished second on the stage, well clear of Benavides.
Luciano Benavides finished fourth on home soil at 22 minutes and 38 seconds. The local favourite, who won the prologue and began the week as championship leader, lost that position to Sanders. Adrien Van Beveren showed his quality on the final day with a fourth place on the stage, ending the rally sixth overall. Skyler Howes finished fifth overall, while Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports) had a difficult week.
In the championship, Sanders now leads, with the top four separated by just 13 points. KTM holds only a 5-point advantage over Honda in the manufacturers’ standings.
Quintero wins after dramatic duel
In the car category, the tension was palpable right to the final moment. Seth Quintero (Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC) started the closing day with a 7-second lead over Nasser Al Attiyah (Dacia Sandriders). Both contenders ran into trouble: Quintero stopped twice early in the stage for punctures. Al Attiyah looked set for victory when, with 87 kilometres to the finish, he picked up a flat tyre, had to change a wheel, and then found himself stuck in the dust of teammate Sébastien Loeb.
Stage honours went to Henk Lategan (Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC), his second stage win of the week. Quintero finished second at 1 minute and 55 seconds, Al Attiyah third at 2 minutes and 26 seconds. With that, the 23-year-old Californian secured his first Ultimate class victory, at the end of an event in which he did not win a single stage but drove with metronomic consistency (4th, 6th, 3rd, 5th and 2nd).
For Lategan, his stage win had a bittersweet taste. A three-minute time penalty on Thursday for a late check-in ultimately cost him overall victory. He finished second in the general classification. It was also Toyota’s first 1-2 of the season and the Japanese manufacturer’s sixth overall victory at this event. Al Attiyah completed the podium. Loeb finished fourth at 3 minutes and 54 seconds from Quintero, mirroring his fourth place at the Dakar. The Frenchman retains the lead in the world championship, but his advantage has shrunk to 3 points over Al Attiyah and 13 over Quintero. Nani Roma was the best-placed Ford driver in fifth, while Yazeed Al Rajhi fought his way back to sixth.
Ventura convinces in Rally2, Klaassen makes history
In Rally2, Martim Ventura (Monster Energy Honda HRC) wrapped up an excellent week with his fourth stage win. The Portuguese rider dominated the final stage with nearly three minutes in hand and claimed his first W2RC victory with a margin of more than eight and a half minutes. Teammate Bruno Crivilin impressed on his W2RC debut, taking second place at 8 minutes and 35 seconds. Toni Mulec (BAS World KTM) was the best privateer in third overall at 15 minutes and 35 seconds, but lost the championship lead to Ventura by 4 points. Murun Purevdorj (Xraids Experience) won all five stages in Rally3 and takes over the championship lead in that class as well.
History was made in the Challenger class. Puck Klaassen (KTM X-Bow powered by G Rally) finished second in the event behind Alexandre Pinto (Old Friends Rally) but took over the W2RC Challenger championship lead. The 23-year-old Dutch driver becomes the first female driver to lead the W2RC. Drivers such as Cristina Gutiérrez, Sara Price and Dania Akeel have previously competed for top positions, but none has ever held the championship lead. If Klaassen can defend her advantage through to the Rally du Maroc and the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, she will become the first female world champion in W2RC history.
Stock, SSV and quads
In the quad class, Argentine Lucas Domínguez (LD Racing) took overall victory on home soil. Antanas Kanopkinas (CFMoto Thunder Racing) won four of the five stages, but a technical failure on the opening day left him fourth overall. He retains the championship lead.
In the Stock class, Stéphane Peterhansel (Defender) won the event following his earlier victory in Portugal, but teammate Rokas Baciuska remains in front in the championship. Jeremías González Ferioli (Can-Am Factory) wrapped up a fantastic week with overall victory in the SSV class on home soil and takes over the lead in the W2RC SSV standings.
Next stop: Morocco
The rally raid caravan now enters a long break. The W2RC resumes from 28 September to 3 October with the Rallye du Maroc, the penultimate round of the season. With the championships in every class still wide open, the resumption promises a fascinating conclusion.
