Dakar Rally: images from the toughest rally competition in the world - The 40th edition of the famous Dakar Rally is currently taking place. Since 2009 the stage for the competition has been South America, and this year it will pass through Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. 
Considered by many to be the toughest rally in the world, accidents and dropouts are common.

Click on and see the stunning images from the competition!

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Fearless - Briton Sam Sunderland, of team KTM, during the first stage of the rally between Lima and Pisco.

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Fall - South African Wessel Bosman, of Race-2-Dakar, picks himself up after a fall in the dunes between Lima and Pisco.

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Teamwork - Russians Airat Mardeev, copilot Aydar Belyaev and mechanic Dmitriy Svistunov, from the KAMAZ Master team, pass through the area between Pisco and Marcona.

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Spectacle - A group of fans watch the Argentinean team of driver Orlando Terranova and copilot Bernardo Graue take on a tough leg of the rally.

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Only the bravest - The Argentine duo of the Mini X-Raid team, take on a spectacular slope.

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Never-ending dunes - Spanish driver Carlos Sainz and copilot Luca Cruz, try to finish the second stage as quick as possible.

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Duel in the sand - The Spanish duo (303) go ahead of their French Colleagues Cyril Despres and David Castera.

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Lone wolf - Austrian Matthias Walkner, of team KTM, pushes himself to get to the end of the second stage.

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Dune surfer - Frenchman Xavier De Soultrait looks like he's surfing the dunes in his Yamaha bike.

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Sand as far as the eye can see - Xavier De Soultrait crosses the vast sand dunes of Pisco, in Peru.

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Peruvian flags - Frenchman Antoine Meo, from team KTM, takes on the sand dunes of Pisco at high speed with two Peruvian flags in the background.

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Going down at speed - Australian Toby Price, of KTM, goes down yet another dune.

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Amazing views - Toby Price crosses the dunes with a view of the sea beside him.

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Big fall - Price takes a tumble during the second stage.

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Unblemished view - The duo of Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena take on a dune during the second stage of the competition in front of a photographer.

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Dunes and more dunes - The Dutch team of Gert Huzink and Rob Buursen, driving for Renault cross the never-ending sand in Pisco, Peru.

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Dangerous drop - Japanese drivers Teruhito Sugawara and Mitsugu Takahashi take on a dangerous slope.

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Waves of sand - Hino's Japanese duo drive through a backdrop of sandy waves that seems to go on forever.

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Sun and sand - Dutchmen Janus Van Kasteren and Wouter De Graaff cross the vast sandy desert of Pisco.

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Eat my dust - The Dutch leave a cloud of dust in their wake while crossing the terrain at high speed.

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Helicopter supervision - The French team of Stephane Peterhansel and Jean Paul Cottret hit the gas under 'supervision' from a helicopter.

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A grain of sand - The Toyota Gazoo Racing SA team look like just another grain of sand in the middle of the desert.

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No end in sight - The duo of Nasser Al-Attiya and Mathieu Baumelstill have a long way to go.

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Danger - Bryce Menzies and copilot Peter Mortensen challenge gravity itself on this dune.

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An accident in full sight - On one of the competition's dangerous dunes, the duo of Cristina Gutierrez and Gabriel Moiset Ferrer suffer an accident.

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Chopper on the horizon - American Ricky Brabec, from team Honda, crosses some treacherous dunes during the third stage, with a helicopter in the background.

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Full steam ahead - Russian Sergei Kariakin, from team Yamaha, speeds past.

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No time to waste - Bolivian Daniel Nosiglia, from team KTM, accelerates over the dunes.

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Careful descent - The French duo of Stephane Peterhansel and Jean Paul Cottret, try to get down this dune without accidents.

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