2012 Dakar Rally in Photos
Jan 15 2012
Each year more than 500 teams compete in this magnificent 8,300km endurance race which spans through Argentina, Chile and Peru. 2012 marks the 33rd annual Paris-Dakar rally. Check out some of the places riders and drivers get to experience on their way to the finish line. Simply breathtaking!
Hummer's driver Robby Gordon and co-driver Johnny Campbell from the U.S. jump across the podium during the symbolic start of the 2012 Dakar Rally in Mar del Plata on December 31, 2011. (Juan Mabromata/AFP/Getty Images)
A biker competes in the 11th stage of the Dakar Rally 2012 from Arica to Arequipa, Chile, on January 12, 2012. (Reuters/Philippe Desmazes)
French motorcyclist Cyril Despres rides his KTM during the stage 10 of the Dakar 2012 between Iquique and Arica, Chile, on January 11, 2012. Spain's Joan Barreda won stage 10. (JEROME PREVOST/AFP/Getty Images)
Mechanics work into the night during the rest day of the 2012 Dakar Rally in Copiapo, Chile on January 8, 2012. (Bryn Lennon/Getty Images,)
Argentina's Marcos Patronelli races his Yamaha quad as a helicopter flies over during the seventh stage of the 2012 Dakar Rally through Copiapo, Chile, on January 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
Mini's driver Stephane Peterhansel and co-driver Jean Paul Cottret, both from France, compete in the 11th stage of the 2012 Dakar Rally between Arica, Chile and Arequipa, Peru, on January 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
France's Stephane Peterhansel and co-pilot Jean-Paul Cottret drive their Mini Monster during the eighth stage of the 2012 Dakar Rally from Copiapo to Antofagasta, on January 9, 2012. (Reuters/Jerome Prevot)
France's Christophe Blondeau kicks up sand on his Yamaha during the seventh stage of the Dakar Rally in Copiapo, Chile, on January 7, 2012. (Reuters/Jacky Naegelen)
Joan Pedrero, of Spain, races his KTM in the 10th stage of the Dakar Rally between Iquique and Arica, Chile, on January 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Jerome Prevost)
The burning car of Alfie Cox of South Africa and co-driver Jurgen Schroder sits in the sand dunes during stage one of the 2012 Dakar Rally on January 1, 2012 in Santa Rosa de la Pampa, Argentina. (Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
The burning Polaris of Jose Antonio Blangino of Argentina sits in the sand dunes during stage one of the 2012 Dakar Rally on January 1, 2012 in Santa Rosa de la Pampa, Argentina. (Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
A motorbike rider crosses the Chile-Peru border before the start of the 2012 Dakar Rally Stage 11, in Tacna, Peru on January 12, 2012. (Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty Images)
Jo Adua of France drives his Iveco truck over a sand dune during stage seven of the 2012 Dakar Rally on January 7, 2012 in Copiapo, Chile. (Bryn Lennon/Getty Images,)
Stephane Peterhansel of France drives his Mini towards the stage finish on stage nine of the 2012 Dakar Rally from Antofagasta to Iquique, Chile, on January 10, 2012. (Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
Cyril Despres, of France, races his KTM in the 10th stage of the 2012 Dakar Rally between Iquique and Arica, Chile, on January 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Jerome Prevost, Pool)
Spain's Gerard Farres Guell rides his KTM during the seventh stage of the Dakar Rally in Copiapo, Chile on January 7, 2012. (Reuters/Jacky Naegelen)
Kamaz driver Andrey Karginov and co-driver Andrey Mokeev, both from Russia, compete in the truck category in the third stage of the 2012 Dakar Rally between San Rafael and San Juan, Argentina, on January 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Frederic Le Floch)
Jacek Czachor of Poland and the Orlen Team crosses a river during stage eleven of the 2012 Dakar Rally from Arica to Arequipa, Peru, on January 12, 2012. (Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
