The 34th Dakar Rally and fifth version to be held in Latin America features a largely Pacific coast route which begins on January 5 in the Peruvian capital of Lima and ends on January 20 in Santiago, race organiser Etienne Lavigne announced yesterday.

The mythical endurance race that originated in 1978 when it was run from Paris to Dakar, Senegal, will this year begin with 459 vehicles made up of cars, trucks, motorcycles and quads and cover some 8,400 kilometres to the finish line in the capital of Chile.

Frenchman Stephen Peterhansel defends his title in the auto category, but faces a stiff challenge from former champions Nasser Al-Attiyah, of Qatar, and Spanish driver Carlos Sainz who won the race in 2011 and 2010 respectively.

The route winds along the Pacific coast before two diversions into mainland Argentina and some rugged roads in the Andes mountains featuring 14 stages across three countries.

The 50-year-old Sainz, who also won the world rally title in 1990 and 1992, is one of the main threats to Peterhansel’s title along with the Qatari driver, who retired from the race last year with mechanical problems but will be back on the start line in January.

The motorcycle category sees the return of the Honda team who have been absent since 1992 and is set to feature another intense rivalry between defending champion Cyril Despres, of France, and Spaniard Marc Coma who have shared the last seven titles and are the outright favourites.