In pictures: the Dakar Rally 2018

Bearing the scars of battle, the Peugeot 3008 DKR Dakar challenger crosses the finish line in Cordoba, Argentina on Saturday 20 January. Click 'Next' to see more photos from the 2018 Dakar rally. In the pick-up truck category, the Red Bull-sponsored Toyota Hilux crossed the line in Cordoba - bringing smiles of relief from drivers Al-Attiyah Nasser and Baumel Matthieu Legende. Tyre trouble is a regular problem when driving across wide open deserts: here the leading Peugeot 3008 DKR fixes a problem in the sand on stage 13, from San Juan to the finish line in Cordoba, Argentina. Note the spare wheel tucked in the bodywork where the door would be on a regular car. Let's hear it for the bikers, some of the toughest of the Dakar rally raid breed. With little to protect them from the elements, these riders face the toughest conditions of all on the famously tough race across South America. It's not all main manufacturer-backed teams: here an independent French team soldier through the wilds of Argentina in a bespoke Polaris Dakar raid buggy. Tough, gritty and mean-looking... A bird's eye view of a typical corner on the 2018 Dakar rally raid: dust, mud and a rather loose interpretation of a road and/or route. No wonder people get lost trying to navigate on the Dakar... The Dakar Rally continues to spear across Bolivia. Here's rally hero Carlos Sainz in the Peugeot 3008 DKR rally-raid special on Stage 7 from La Paz to Uyuni feeding a following bike a mouthful of desert dust. A typical Dakar Rally scene: the Toyota Gazoo Racing truck gets some serious air - and sand on its way down - during the early stages of the 2018 race. This pic amply illustrates why it's such a tough competition. The 2018 Dakar Rally is the tenth to start in South America. Entrants are preparing to race 5600 miles over 14 race stages through the most inhospitable landscapes known to man. Mini is entering seven two-man teams with its new John Cooper Works Buggy (above). Dakar veterans Peugeot are competing with their 3008 Dakar buggy. Here rally pro Carlos Sainz gets some air on the first stage from Lima to Pisco in Peru. Proper desert racing is a given in the Dakar. Here a helicopter shadows the Red Bull-sponsored buggy as it sends rooster-tails of sand scattering across the Peruvian outback on the first stage. A pair of Mini competitors pose in front of their all-new John Cooper Works Buggy. Temperatures will range from +40deg C to well below freezing, as the route climbs over 3000 metres in altitude. Three of the likely front-runners gather ahead of stage one. These silhouette racers bear only a passing resemblance to their roadgoing brethren - these are bespoke racers designed to cope with desert heat, rocks and just about anything else Mother Nature can throw at them... The start podium in Peru for stage one of the 2018 Dakar Rally: Stephane Peterhansel gets ready in his Peugeot 3008 Dakar racer... Yes, the hardiest entrants enter the Dakar Rally on quad bikes. The mind boggles... Young fans join the throngs of spectators on the busier stretches of the 2018 Dakar Rally. But vast swathes of the race are in places so remote, drivers see nobody for dozens of miles.