Argentina is globally renowned as a footballing powerhouse which is hardly surprising given the country’s three FIFA World Cups including the 2022 title, but the nation also boasts a burgeoning reputation in off-road motorcycle sport.
The breath-taking Villa Le Angostura circuit has been a regular stop on the FIM Motocross World Championship calendar since 2015, though this came one year after Argentina made its debut as host of the FIM International Six Days of Enduro and from 2009 until 2018 the South American country also helped host the fabled Dakar Rally.
The ISDE returns to Argentina this year with the valley city of San Juan, which lies to the east of the Andes Mountain range, once again the base for what will be the ninety-seventh edition of this legendary event that runs from 6-11 November. Event HQ will be at the Circuito San Juan Villicum which is better known for hosting the South American round of the FIM Superbike World Championship.
Back in 2014 a relatively little-known rider by the name of Kevin Benavides helped the home nation to a fantastic fifth position in the premier World Trophy category at his home ISDE.
Benavides’ star has continued to rise in the intervening years and following his heroics in the Saudi Arabian sand earlier this month the thirty-four-year-old is now a two-time winner of the Dakar Rally – the first and so far, only Argentinian racer to have topped the Bike category – and an international off-road icon.
The big question on everyone’s lips is will Benavides, whose hometown of Salta is eleven hundred kilometres north of San Juan, be tempted by home advantage to attempt to add to his tally of four ISDE gold medals?
Watch this space…
Pre-registration for the 2023 FIM International Six Days of Enduro opens in just a few weeks’ time so keep checking back for further information.
