Disembark 'n' park

The Río Imperial has berthed in Lima, where the 700 vehicles dispatched from Le Havre now await their drivers and pilots. The last few thousand kilometres to Santiago will be far more eventful...

The vehicles of the European contenders have cleared the first hurdle of the 2013 Dakar. Together with the media and organisers' vehicles, they arrived in Lima at the end of a 21-day voyage from Le Havre which at times put the Río Imperial's seaworthiness to the test. The ship was battered by rough seas during the first three days of the transatlantic crossing, but the cars, motorcycles and trucks were safely strapped and unfazed by all the rolling and swaying.

Not a single scratch was found after 22 hours of work unloading 700 vehicles, as explained by Jean-Marc, the operations supervisor in Lima: "We only had to inflate a few tyres and recharge a few batteries. Everything else was in good working order and the vehicles were taken to the parc fermé, where we'll keep a close eye on them until the pilots come to pick them up."

The competitors are expected at Callao Port from December 31 in the morning. The harbour lies just a few kilometres from the technical and administrative scrutineering site, due to open on January 2.

ASO DAKAR