After four months off, the World Rally-Raid Championship returned to action with the Desafío Ruta 40 in Argentina. As we have done all season, The Checkered Flag covered the race in extensive detail in the months leading up to and during the rally itself.
Missed any stories? Get caught up below!
Pre-race stories
- 24 November 2022: 2023 Road to Dakar races include W2RC legs, South Africa
- 20 January: TCF‘s Dakar Rally newsroom
- 7 March: TCF‘s Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge newsroom
- 17 March: 2023 Desafío Ruta 40 route revealed
- 2 May: TCF‘s Sonora Rally newsroom
- 2 June: Joaquín Debeljuh joins Kove Moto for Desafío Ruta 40
- 10 June: Paraplegic rider Juan Nimo to run Desafío Ruta 40
- 18 June: Nicolás Cavigliasso moves up to T3 for Argentina, Dakar 2024
- 27 June: Skyler Howes, Husqvarna Factory Racing part ways
- 30 June: CaNav champion Iván Martín entering Desafío Ruta 40
- 2 July: Gustavo Gallego entering Desafío Ruta 40 in SSV
- 2 July: Crash injuries force David Tieppo to skip Desafío Ruta 40
- 3 July: 2021 Argentinian champion Marcio Yampa to run Desafío Ruta 40
- 4 July: Sebastián Urquía enters Desafío Ruta 40
- 10 July: Martín Franco entering Desafío Ruta 40
- 13 July: SARR T3.2 winner Diego Blas entering Desafio Ruta 40
- 13 July: Matías Innocente to run Desafío Ruta 40
- 13 July: Carlos Llibre, ALL1 to tackle Desafío Ruta 40
- 14 July: Desafío Ruta 40 adds YPF title sponsorship, Desafío Ansenuza
- 15 July: Jeremías Pascual enters Desafío Ruta 40 on Dakar 2024 mission
- 19 July: Nicolás Etchamendi-designed SSV to début in Desafío Ruta 40
- 21 July: Now-healthy Michael Docherty returning to W2RC in Argentina
- 24 July: Bahrain Raid Xtreme confirms no Argentina, focusing on Morocco and Dakar 2024
- 1 August: Kevin Benavides to miss Desafío Ruta 40 with wrist injury
- 7 August: Rokas Baciuška skipping Desafío Ruta 40
- 18 August: 99 on entry list
Overall winners
| Class | Number | Competitor | Team | Time | Recap |
| T1 | 200 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Toyota Gazoo Racing | 15:10:03 | Recap |
| T3 | 302 | Mitch Guthrie | Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team | 16:22:31 | Recap |
| T4 | 403 | Gustavo Gallego* | South Racing Can-Am | 18:34:37 | Recap |
| RallyGP | 68 | Tosha Schareina* | Honda Team | 15:58:46 | Recap |
| Rally2 | 21 | Bradley Cox | BAS World KTM Racing Team | 17:01:01 | Recap |
| Rally3 | 122 | Ardit Kurtaj | Xraids Experience | 23:15:45 | Recap |
| Quad | 152 | Manuel Andújar | 7240 Team | 19:24:30 | Recap |
| Open Auto | 650 | Blas Zapag* | Copetrol Rally | 23:06:34 | Recap |
| Open T3 | 670 | Jeremías Gonzalez Ferioli* | Ferioli Racing Team | 17:34:31 | Recap |
| Open T4 | 678 | Juan José Semino* | Xcorpion Rally Racing | 20:59:00 | Recap |
| Open Moto | 608 | Rodrigo de Abreu Sallum* | MED Racing Team | 22:36:24 | Recap |
| Open Quad | 623 | Santiago Rostan* | Pampa Rental Rally Team | 25:28:33 | Recap |
| Road to Dakar Auto | 678 | Juan José Semino* | Xcorpion Rally Racing | 20:59:00 | Recap |
| Road to Dakar Moto | 69 | Juan Santiago Rostan* | Pampa Rental Rally Team | 25:28:33 | Recap |
Stage recaps
| Stage | Date | Overall Cars Winner | Overall Bikes Winner | Recap |
| Prologue | 27 August | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Adrien Van Beveren | Recap |
| Stage #1 | 28 August | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Tosha Schareina* | Recap |
| Stage #2 | 29 August | Juan Cruz Yacopini | Tosha Schareina* | Recap |
| Stage #3 | 30 August | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Tosha Schareina* | Recap |
| Stage #4 | 31 August | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Luciano Benavides | Recap |
| Stage #5 | 1 September | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Adrien Van Beveren | Recap |
