2015 Dakar Series - Team HRC in Argentina for the Desafio Ruta 40

Team HRC Rally are all set to tackle the sixth edition of Argentina’s Desafio Ruta 40 which heads out from Catamarca on Tuesday May 19 before winding up – after five days of racing – in Villa Union on Saturday May 23.

The Ruta 40 forms part of the Dakar Series and will be the first of three competitions to be held on South America soil; second up will be Paraguay’s Desafio Guarani in July, with the Desafio Inca in Peru rounding off the series later in September.

Team HRC will be lining up Joan Barreda, Paulo Goncalves and rookie Ricky Brabec for the Ruta 40 challenge. The event will give Team HRC further opportunity to test the CRF 450 Rally and simulate the terrain and conditions that the riders are likely to encounter in Argentina at the forthcoming Dakar 2016.

Argentina’s national rally champion Javier Pizzolito couldn’t miss out on the race on home soil and will be entrusted with a CRF 450 Rally HRC under the auspices of Mariano Casaroli’s MEC team.

The race schedule is as follows:

May 17, 2015 ScrutineeringCatamarca

May 18, 2015 Starting rampCatamarca

May 19, 2015 Stage 1Catamarca

May 20, 2015 Stage 2Tinogasta

May 21, 2015 Stage 3Tinogasta

May 22, 2015 Stage 4Chilecito

May 23, 2015 Stage 5Villa Union

Martino Bianchi

Team HRC General Manager

The Ruta 40 is particularly important for rider training, as well as a test for making certain technical choices for our CRF 450 Rally ahead of the forthcoming Dakar 2016. The team will, for the second time this year, be able to put Californian rookie Ricky Brabec to the test after his outstanding fifth place in his first rally in Abu Dhabi. The navigation and Road Book interpretation will be tougher out here in Argentina so we will be able to take a closer look at his rally skills. It will be a great pleasure also to support Javier Pizzolito who will be backed by the Argentinean MEC team, who we would like to thank for all the logistic assistance that they have supplied for such a long trip. 

Taichi Honda

Team HRC Technical Director

Team HRC will be participating in the Ruta 40 rally in Argentina following the rallies completed earlier this year in Abu Dhabi and Qatar. This will be another opportunity to continue to make some technical adjustments and innovations to the bike. The Argentinean Ruta 40 is also an important meeting to improve rider’s navigational skills and to test the bike in conditions similar to those that will be found in the next Dakar.