Dakar 2018 has ended! Praise the survivors!

Dakar is perhaps the biggest and best world-wide know annual off-road rally event in which this year 337 vehicles representing 54 nationalities competed in 14 rally stages for over two weeks crossing three countries in South America (Peru, Bolivia, Argentina) and recording almost 9000 km, over half of which were in rally stages. By motor-sport awareness Dakar is second to Formula 1. Dakar is in its 40th anniversary this year. 

Rally is so hard to survive for participants, vehicles, teams of mechanics that for most even participating in Dakar becomes the experience of a lifetime and finishing the rally itself is undoubtedly the title recognized worldwide. Scale of toughness may be described by comparing the number of participants crossing the start line at Stage 1 in Lima, Peru with the number of finishers after Stage 14 in Cordoba, Argentina. 

Here are the numbers per vehicle class, count at start / finish:
Bike (most respected as driver has to navigate by himself) + Quad:  85+32/190
Car: 43/91
SxS (buggy): 6/14
Truck: 18/42

This has been great year for Lithuania in Dakar as all 6 participants have finished the rally: 3 cars + 1 bike. Team of Craft Bearing (Antanas Juknevičius and Darius Vaičiulis) (cars) even broke the all time record of all Baltic Countries and finished 12th overall! This Dakar was 10th for the leader of the team - before participating as a driver, he used to work as a manager of Kazakhstan Astana team. Overall car class winner is legendary Carlos Sainz. Congratulations!!! Again, it's a proof of how much experience is a factor is such type of races.  

Are there many of you around here who have been actively following events of Dakar 2018? 

photo copyright: Team of Craft Bearing and Vytautas Dranginis