Mongolian team takes on 3,000 mile Dakar Rally

A Mongolian team of rallyists flew to Peru to line up on the Dakar 2019 starting line on Sunday.

The annual 3,000 mile motor race will push the limits of 534 racers and 334 motors from 40 countries through the earth's deserts for 11 days, from January 6 to 17.

Three people are representing Mongolia in the SxS and motorbike categories. International Sports Master U.Byambadelger is the leader and router for the team, U.Byambatsogt will be the driver, B.Battur is the mechanic, G.Aranzal will serve as a technical consultant, while D.Bayarbileg, G.Temuujin and B.Khatanbaatar are working as managers of the team. Brothers U.Byambatsogt and U.Byambadelger will drive the four-wheeler with participant No. 413.

This year’s route crosses the sand dunes of Peru, which is known to have some of the largest sand dunes in the world. Contestants will start in Lima, head south all the way down to Arequipa and then return to the starting line. The trail will not be marked and bikers and riders can only trust their instincts and instructions provided on the bike. More importantly, organizers say that 70 percent of the road is flat sand, making it even harder for participants.

Mongolian auto sport enthusiasts and professionals first signed up for the annual rally in 2013. U.Byambadelger became the first Mongolian to complete the 10-day challenge in 2015 with a Mongolia-Hungary joint team. His brother U.Byambatsogt took up the challenge the same year but had to throw in the towel due to technical error.