The 2013 Dakar Rally is ready to race into the climax of the second half. The competition on January 16 took place from La Rioja to Fiambalá, Argentina. After the competitors drove through the liaison of 256 km, they raced 219 km through the Fiambalá desert.
Fiambalá is a highland at an elevation of about 1,500 m, located at the foot of the Andes Cordillera. The soft white sand had a high running resistance, which slowed down the running speeds. Since the temperature also exceeded 40 degrees often, there were many participants who were hit with overheating problems due to the intense heat, as well as the risk of being stuck. This stage goes through a difficult portion, and is said to be a symbol of the Argentina stage of the Dakar Rally which moved to South America. Today's special stage (SS) was also set to race in the counterclockwise direction at the foot of the mountains in the northern portion of Fiambalá, and there were many sand dunes in this stage that the competitors had to cross over.
However, the dry rivers on the course suddenly flooded due to the rainfall the previous day. Since there were other flooded locations, the organizer determined that the 4-wheeled vehicle and truck divisions would be cancelled. Some of the vehicles that started earlier have already raced through checkpoint (CP) 1. Therefore, the order of the vehicles that passed through CP1 was used as the standard to determine the ranking, and the finishing time of the last ranked vehicle was equally provided to the vehicles which did not pass through CP1. In detail, the finishing time of 01:13:25 of the overall 21st ranked vehicle was equally provided to the vehicles ranked 22nd and below.
There are three stages remaining to reach Santiago on January 19. The plan for stage 12 on January 17 takes the competitors into Chile across the Andes Cordillera again, and besides a sand dune stage with a high level of difficulty around Copiapó in the center of the Atacama Desert will be waiting for the competitors.