After a year off, the Desafío Ruta 40 is back in 2026 with a route bouncing between San Juan and San Rafael. It will span over 2,993 kilometers for FIA with 1,727 km in timed sections.

Thanks to the Prologue, the FIM route exceeds the 3K mark with 3,015 km in total and 1,736 km in Selective Sections. The FIA no longer has prologues.

Stages 2, 3, and 5 will have transfer sections. The third transfer is split into two sections of eight and 21 kilometers, respectively.

Both cities will serve as the bivouacs.

San Juan, the capital of the province of the same name, hosted Stages 3 and 4 of the 2024 race. San Rafael, located in adjacent Mendoza, last appeared on the itinerary in 2016.

Much of the race will go through the El Nihuil desert, which also returns after nine years away.

The DR 40 is the third round of the 2026 World Rally-Raid Championship.

UPDATE (May 6): Article has been updated with stage lengths.

Route

Stage	Start	Finish	Selective Sections	Liaison	Date
Prologue	San Juan	San Juan	9 km	13 km	May 24
Stage 1	San Juan	San Juan	340 km	171 km	May 25
Stage 2	San Juan	San Rafael	334 km	387 km Transfer: 25 km	May 26
Stage 3	San Rafael	San Rafael	409 km	166 km Transfer A: 8 km Transfer B: 21 km	May 27
Stage 4	San Rafael	San Juan	324 km	310 km	May 28
Stage 5	San Juan	San Juan	320 km	232 km Transfer: 56 km	May 29