The Desafío Ruta 40 Rally is part of the world-famous Dakar Series, a number of cross-country rallies, and is the first event of this series to be added to Dakar 18. The race took place between August 27th and 31st in Argentina, and it covers the following stages and respective roadbooks:

• Stage 1: SAN MIGUEL - BELÉN
• Stage 2: BELÉN - TINOGASTA
• Stage 3: TINOGASTA - TINOGASTA
• Stage 4: TINOGASTA - VILLA UNION
• Stage 5: VILLA UNION - SAN JUAN

It also includes a tribute to the bike rider Mathias Bellino, from HRC.