The 2012 event proved particularly challenging thanks to a menu of more than 4,000 kilometresof against-the-clock action between the New Year’s Day start in Mar del Plata, Argentina, and the finish in Lima, Peru. The route featured a punishing cocktail of rough and rocky trails, plus Chile’s sandy Atacama desert and the awesome dunes of southern Peru which competitors discovered for the first time this year.

I was near Arequipa, Perú in one of the harder parts of this rally and took some photos. ( stage 11)