The 2013 Dakar Rally held the opening ceremony in Lima, the capital of Peru on the 5th, to start the 15 day race.
This is the first time the event has started from Lima, since the Dakar Rally moved the stages to South America in 2009. The drivers will reach their goal in Santiago the capital of Chile on the 20th via Chile and Argentina. A total of 449 vehicles, including 183 bikes, 38 4-wheeled buggies (quads), 153 4-wheeled cars and 75 trucks started the race today. Participants from 53 nations are participating in this race. The high amount of different nationalities is second only to the Olympics, which gives the impression that the current Dakar Rally is very successful.
The start venue takes place in Chorrillos, a district in the southeastern part of Lima City. The start podium was set up in a park along the coast, and many spectators filled the areas around the park.
Today's stage leads from Lima to Pisco. After the vehicles moved close to the bivouac along the coast of Pisco over a distance of 250 km, the 13km short special stage (SS) started. The special stage is a practice stage, where most of the road surface was sandy crossing over sand dunes.
The finishing position of the SS will be the starting order of the SS for the next day. Depending on the content of the stage including navigation, an earlier starting positions is basically advantageous in many cases. The mechanics in the bivouac were buried in necessary maintenance and inspections for the race on the 6th, which starts in the shape of a loop from Pisco.