The 2013 Dakar Rally is ready to enter the final stage. On January 17, the competitors entered Chile across the Andes Cordillera again from Argentina, and the 319 km race was held around Copiapó in the middle of the Atacama Desert.
Today's special stage started by crossing a mountain at an altitude of over 3,000 m, and the route changed to sand after the middle of the stage. This stage was extremely difficult, where the towering soft sand dunes which are a feature of this area continued one after another, with a risk of being stuck or having blowout tire.
The plan for stage 13 on January 18, takes the competitors 441 km from Copiapó to La Serena, Chile. This special stage consists of two parts, a first half and second half, and the competitors will mainly be crossing sand dunes again in the Atacama Desert in the first half. As expected for the final difficult stage, the mechanics were absorbed in their inspections and repair of the vehicles in the bivouac at Copiapó.