One of our very own Utah dualsport posse members found himself smack dab in the middle of the send-off of this year’s Dakar Rally, which started on January 1st in Argentina. Stanton Jones, owner of PCTV, sent us a few snaps of some of the bikes at the starting area. It’s on my to-do list to go spectate this event someday, preferably via motorbike. For now, I’ll just have to drool over these bike photos.

Start of the Dakar Rally. Photo by Stanton Jones.

Start of the Dakar Rally. Photo by Stanton Jones.

The Dakar Rally roadbook and navigation. Photo by Stanton Jones.

Crowds lining the streets for the start. Photo by Stanton Jones.

And they are off! Photo by Stanton Jones.

This dude is not going to stay white for long. Photo by Stanton Jones.

This must be a parade lap. Photo by Stanton Jones

It’s Dakar Rally time for all you moto-heads. No, it’s not in Africa anymore. Yes, they still call it the Dakar. Yes, there are sand dunes in South America. Of course, KTM bikes are absolutely crushing the top ten every day. Darth Nater has been following along on Versus, but another way to get quick updates of the progress of the race, visit the KTM website, they have daily updates, since most of the top riders are riding KTMs. And how about a shout out to Jonah Street, a young American who doesn’t seem to have much in the way of sponsorship. He’s already won a stage against the best rally riders, and is currently sitting 2nd overall. Rock on, brother Street.