Plenty of competition

Mitsubishi has dominated the race since 2001, but this year it has changed models from Pajero to Lancer and the fuel to diesel, finally copying Volkswagen. Peterhansel leads the race in titles — nine; six on a motorbike, three in a car — and stage wins, and will have plenty of competition from the other Lancers driven by 2006 winner and Olympic skiing champion Luc Alphand and two-time Dakar champion Hiroshi Masuoka.

Sainz was entered in his third Dakar, and spearheaded a strong Volkswagen lineup with Giniel De Villiers, Mark Miller, and Dieter Depping. Cyril Despres and Marc Coma, winners of the last three motorbike titles, and Vladimir Chagin, the five-time truck champion, were racing.

Also among the entries were first-timers and former France rugby internationals, Philippe Bernat-Salles in a car and Christian Califano on a motorbike.

After a parade from the Obelisk in the center of Buenos Aires to a park in Palermo, where the race will officially start on Saturday, the first stage was 733 kilometres south to Santa Rosa.