Gaucho Trail Motor Challenge 2026

Scrutineering and Documentation sessions will take place during Sunday before crews join together to look forward to an unforgettable month exploring South America at the welcome dinner.

Aiming to begin the event with a bang. The ceremonial start and first competition is planned for a circuit near Montevideo before we head north through the dirt back roads of Uruguay.

As the route passes Lago Rincon del Bonete, the largest freshwater lake in Uruguay, there should be the opportunity to get lunch and rest before the final push to the first overnight halt in Rivera on the Uruguay/Brazil border.

Tonight, we will stay in Uruguay leaving the border crossing as our first adventure on Day 2.

Our days in Brazil will take the event through the provinces of Rio Grande do Sul, a major agriculture and livestock region, Santa Catarina, where wood products form a major part of the industry, and Parana which is one of the country’s major producers of coffee and the site of our first rest day in the subtropical rainforest at Iguazu Falls.

The planned route uses territory from a number of Brazilian rallies so you can expect some challenging sections on dirt and gravel tracks, plus some test sections on local race circuits.

We plan to stay on the Brazilian side of the Iguazu Falls to enjoy the National Park and then cross into Paraguay early on Day 6.

After enjoying the incredible beauty and power of the Iguazu Falls on our rest day, we cross the Parana River and head into new territory in Paraguay.

The rally will take us through the eastern side of the country as we head to the first overnight halt in the capital city of Asuncion. This area of the country hosts many rounds of the local rally championship and with Paraguay joining the WRC in 2025 we know we will get a lot of help from the local clubs to organise some superb gravel road sections to enjoy on the way.

Crossing the famous Paraná river brings us to Argentina's Misiones province, overnight stop in Posadas.

Our second day in Argentina will give crews the taste of yet another landscape, the northern 'Litoral' area of Argentina with it's vast ranches.

A rest day in beautiful Salta will lead the crews to first taste of the legendary Ruta 40 on our way to a night in Cafayate then onto La Rioja and San Juan.

Dirt roads and local race circuits will keep crews busy as we head south before turning west and heading into our fifth country, Chile.

The event will enter Chile using the Paso Los Libertadores, an amazing road which rises to 3,200 metres at the crossing point, you can also see Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the entire American continent, so don’t forget your hat and sun tan lotion while you are waiting for the border guards to inspect your paperwork!

From Los Libertadores we continue west to complete the journey from the Atlantic to the Pacific and the venue for our third, well earned, rest day in the coastal town of Vina del Mar.

Having enjoyed the delights of our beachside hotel, and now fully rested, we head south exploring the Pacific coastal region of Chile before heading into the province of Bio Bio and the area used by a number of local rallies and the WRC Rally Chile. The superb and challenging gravel roads in the area will give crews the chance to enjoy some excellent regularity sections and even a local race circuit to add to the competition.

Our final night in Chile will be in the holiday town of Pucon which is overlooked by the Villarrica volcano, you may even see a little smoke from the summit as the volcano is still classed as active.

Our second visit to Argentina begins at the Paso Tromen border crossing, although this pass is much lower than our entry point at only 1,250 metres.

Having crossed back into Argentina the route will explore the lake area close to the border before an overnight halt in Villa La Angostura on the shore of Lago Nahuel Huapi.

Heading north from Villa La Angostura crews can enjoy more kilometres on the legendary Ruta 40 using relatively uncharted territory to our final rest day in Mendoza, the wine capital of Argentina. The rest day should give crews the opportunity to enjoy a glass or two of the local Malbec wine, and maybe even the chance to stock up with a few bottles to send home in the car.

From Mendoza we turn east and head into the roads around Villa Dolores, Mina Clavero and Villa Carlos Paz, made famous by Rally Argentina. These amazing roads will provide the ideal venue for a number of challenging sections as we head towards the finish of this incredible journey.

Our final day in Argentina will cross the Parana River again between Santa Fe and Parana before our final border crossing back into Uruguay at Salto. The plan is to cross the border then stay on the Uruguayan side before our final run to the finish.

The final day of the adventure and a last chance to catch your nearest competition over the final few sections on the dirt backroads of Uruguay.

We plan to finish at the same race circuit we started from just outside Montevideo before a final relaxed run in to the hotel where crews can get themselves ready for the gala prizegiving and dinner later that evening.