Juan Santiago Rostan will challenge the Dakar Rally for a second time in 2025.
“I wanted to tell you that I am going to be in one of the most difficult competitions in the world again,” he wrote on Tuesday. “Neuquén will once again have a representative in the Dakar.”
Racing a GasGas for Xraids Experience at his Dakar début in January, Rostan finished twenty-sixth overall in Rally2 and eighth among rookie riders with a best outing of twenty-second in Stage #4. Save for briefly getting lost at the start of the following leg, he was able to stay out of trouble for the most part to safely reach the finish.
Rostan had qualified for the 2024 Dakar after winning the Road to Dakar at the 2023 Desafío Ruta 40 in his native Argentina. Despite using a borrowed airbag vest from eventual World Rally-Raid Champion Luciano Benavides, he finished the race sixth in Rally2 and best among RtD riders to earn free registration for Dakar.
After Dakar, he returned to the DR 40 in June and scored a ninth in class with a pair of eighths in Stages #1 and #5. His father Santiago Rostan competed in the Quad class and finished twelfth.
The Argentine primarily competes in enduro and the Campeonato Argentino de Rally Raid. He has three medals from the International Six Days Enduro in 2014, 2016, and 2018.
The 2025 Dakar Rally will take place on 3–17 January.
