World Championship round in Argentina: after crossing the finish line, an important decision will have to be made

The 2026 season has expanded the geography for the CFMOTO Thunder Racing Team, as the team will compete in South America for the first time. One of the rounds of the World Rally-Raid Championship will take place in Argentina at the end of May. The organisers of Desafío Ruta 40 are calling this year’s route the strongest version of the rally in the past decade: competitors can expect more sand, more dunes, and special stages climbing higher into the Andes than in previous years.

At this round, the CFMOTO Thunder Racing Team will be represented by Antanas Kanopkinas, and unlike usual, he will be competing without a teammate: “There are many kilometres ahead, and I won’t have a teammate out on the course. So it’s important to collect as many points as possible for my championship tally, because we are considering a plan B for the rest of the season. If we go ahead with it, we will share more information immediately after the finish in Argentina.”

The rider says that there is still a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the race in Abu Dhabi as well, as the tense geopolitical situation in the region currently raises more questions than answers. Although the event is scheduled only for November, the long and complex logistics mean that decisions about taking part in this rally have to be made much earlier.

“We have a lot of puzzles to solve, but right now the most important thing is to focus as much as possible on the race in Argentina. That said, we won’t be going home from here; we will head straight to the next race. Which one it will be, we will announce very soon,” A. Kanopkinas said, without revealing all his cards just yet.

The rally in Argentina will consist of five competition days and a prologue, with the overall route covering as many as 2,993 kilometres, of which 1,726 kilometres will be timed special stages. The third stage will be the longest day of the rally, with the special stage alone stretching for 409 kilometres. Competitors will have to tackle the San Juan–San Rafael–San Juan loop, while the organisers promise extremely varied terrain: from the famous El Nihuil dune massif and dry riverbeds to rocky mountain roads and sections of the Andes reaching altitudes of more than 3,200 metres.

This year’s Desafío Ruta 40 has attracted 151 crews from around the world, with competitors in the motorcycle, car, buggy and quad classes set to start in Argentina. Among them will be some of the biggest stars in the world of rally-raid, such as Carlos Sainz, Sébastien Loeb, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Stéphane Peterhansel. As a result, this rally is regarded not only as one of the most difficult rounds of the World Rally-Raid Championship, but also as a kind of mid-season test of