2016 Dakar Rally route announced

ASO have revealed the route for the 2016 edition of the Dakar Rally during a presentation in Paris on Thursday.

The gruelling rally raid will flag off in Lima(the capital city of Peru) on January 3 and will conclude in Rosario, Argentina, on January 16, after passing through Bolivia.

This marks the return of Peru on the Dakar route following a two-year hiatus. It takes the place left over by Chile which had to forego its agreement with the organisers due to natural disasters that have hit the northern parts of the country.

"We had worked together on a scenario that involved Chile and Peru, Bolivia and Argentina," race director Etienne Lavigne told AFP.

"Unfortunately, Chile experienced a few weeks ago in the Atacama region mudslides and water which enormously devastated infrastructure and resulted in a lot of tragedy.

"They were clearly unable to host us. By mutual agreement, we decided to take a break, in solidarity with them."

CS Santosh will undergo vigorous training in South America later this year to prepare for his next assault at the Dakar Rally.

Santosh told autoX of his anticipation of the Dakar Rally passing through Chile owing to the "massive dunes" that the rally will pass through.

The Bengaluru-based former national supercross champion and Raid de Himalaya winner became the first Indian to compete at and complete the iconic event and is aiming to return next year after competing in rounds of the FIM Cross Country Rallies World Cup.