DONGFENG Challenge Dakar final day review 19.01.2014: Dakar 13th day, January, 18 2014 This afternoon, with the arrival in Valparaíso (Chile), the 36th Dakar Rally finished

Dakar 13th day,  January, 18 2014




This afternoon, with the arrival in Valparaíso (Chile), the 36th Dakar Rally finished. The total distance was 8,734 kilometers in 14 days (plus a couple more for the scrutineering), 5,228 of which were special stage distance and 3,506 road section.


In 2014, three countries hosted the event, Argentina, Bolivia and Chile and saw the effort of more than 400 entrants who started everything in Rosario either in cars, trucks, bikes or quads.

 
The DONGFENG Challenge truck ended this test-drive successfully, leaving behind over 10,000 kilometers without further trouble than a broken fuel tank cap and a loose rear light. It went through rutted roads and off-road tracks of all kind for two consecutive weeks.




The route was the hardest possible chosen for this adventure and threw an exceptional result for a vehicle that was entirely standard and in its first experience of this nature for the company in the toughest and most famous rally in the world.

 
Czech driver Ales Loprais won this last leg with a Tatra. After 55h00m28s of fight, Andrey Karginov (Russia, Kamaz) beat Gerard de Rooy (Netherland, Iveco) by a mere 3m11s. Eduard Nikolaev (Russia, Kamaz) was third in the podium.



Facts and figures


70 trucks started this year’s Dakar and 50 made it to the finish. This means that 28.5% retired, most of them between Legs 2 and 5, probably the roughest part of the event.

 



DONGFENG has been manufacturing many sorts of vehicles for 45 years with high quality standards, using modern and sustainable methods.


Nowadays, the brand is focused in a globally growing process, having made important joint-ventures for this




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