We’re in the final hours of the countdown to a new edition of the Desafío Inca, which will pit competitors against Ica’s majestic, never-ending dunes for the second year straight. Participants have started to reach the base camp of this great race in Paracas, where the presence of famous competitors and Dakar champions has electrified the atmosphere for weeks.
One of them is top Spanish driver Nani Roma, who’s already in Peru and yesterday carried out a shakedown at the Asia Kartodrome (roughly 100 kilometres to the south of Lima) before heading to Paracas. Nani, who has quite a few pleasant memories of Peru, is now ready to rumble. Chilean rider Ignacio Casale is also a guarantee of spectacular racing, just like other elite riders such as David Casteu, Pablo Quintanilla, Ignacio Flores, Diego Weber and Nicolás Fuchs, who’ve also set up shop at the Paracas bivouac.
As the location of the bivouac, the DoubleTree – Hilton Hotel in Paracas will the competitors’ base camp and host the technical and administrative scrutineering from 8 am to 4 pm today, with 86 crews and their vehicles ready to undergo tests. Participants cleared to continue will then wait inside the secure enclosure (4 pm to 5 pm) on Paracas’s El Chaco Boulevard, where all the drivers and riders taking part in the Desafío Inca will have their official photos taken at 5 pm.
That’s the last step before the opening ceremony, which will be held at 5:30 pm on the start podium set up on El Chaco Boulevard. Massive crowds are expected to turn out to see the big names taking part in this edition. The participants retrieved their safety equipment (GPS and Iritrack devices) yesterday, putting everything in place for the start of the race. The 2014 Desafío Inca’s already revving up its engines.
Find the startlist after scrutineerings on the official website www.desafioinca.com
