Source: Supplied.

Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team rider Rodney Faggotter is gearing up for another run at the 2018 Dakar Rally, which will be held from 6 January within Peru, Bolivia and Argentina.

Wearing a special Tenere 700 World Raid livery on their WR450F Rally machines, Faggotter will vie for success alongside teammates Adrien Van Beveren, Xavier de Soultrait and Franco Caimi next month.

Entering his second Dakar Rally aboard WR450F Rally machinery, Australia’s Faggotter is looking to make the most of his experience and mechanical aptitude to assist the team and get as close to the top five as possible. Personally, he would be satisfied with a top 10, but isn’t discounting a top five performance.

“I can’t wait for the 2018 Dakar to begin,” Faggotter said. “Following my wrist injury at the Baja Inka, I gave my body some time to properly recover. The last couple of months everything has been coming together and I’ve been focusing all my efforts into my training and preparation for South America. It’s been quite warm in Australia and I think this will be an advantage for me in the dune stages of Peru.

“I’m expecting the first week to be really tough physically and in terms of navigation. The quicker you get through the tough moments, the better it will be. Navigation will be paramount throughout the event, I believe. I want to have a good clean run and do my race. If it all goes well I am confident of a top 10 overall result and I know I could even do battle for the top five. I want to be there for my teammates when, and if, they need me and also make sure that I do my own race.”

Including seven off-piste stages and five stages at an altitude of more than 3000 meters, this 40th edition of the Dakar Rally is expected to be one of the most demanding in recent history, with 4500km of timed special plus another 4500km of liaison sections on their way towards the finish line on 20 January.