The official Renault Duster Team wants to finish in the Top 10 in the 2015 Dakar, which marks its third participation in the legendary event. The Argentina-based team will enter two all-new Renault Duster SUVs in the rally raid that takes place in South America from January 4 to 17.
At its first participation in 2013, Renault Argentina ranked 29th in the general classification, but in 2014, it managed to finish 14th overall and fourth in class. The team gets full support this year from Renault Sport Technologies, with the two new Renault Dusters featuring V8 engines from the Renault-Nissan Alliance with 380 horsepower.
“We have attentively followed the progress of the Renault Duster Team since their debut in 2013. Our involvement in this project is logical; we will be able to bring innovative technical solutions while also demonstrating the innate off-road qualities of the Duster throughout the first two weeks of January,” said Christophe Chapelain, Competition Technical Manager at Renault Sport Technologies.
Renault Argentina will also increase support for the team by reinforcing its logistics and providing optimized technical support in Argentina, Chile and Bolivia, the countries that will be crossed for the 2015 edition.
The two cars will be manned by Emiliano Spataro and Benjamín Lozada, as well as José García and Mauricio Malano. All four have prepared for the Dakar by competing in three rounds of the Argentinian Rally Cross-Country Championship, where they took a win and three runner-up results.
To mark Renault’s involvement in the Dakar Rally, the company also announced that it will launch a limited edition Duster Dakar in Argentina.
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