The Dakar Rally, regardless of where it is held, is long, difficult, and brutal to both man and machine. Equipment gets torn up and crashes can happen with alarming regularity, but to have your chances at completing the race shot down due to being arrested…well, that’s something else entirely, yet that’s exactly what two racers are looking at after losing the trail got them cuffed and stuffed. According to La Gazetta dello Sport, motorcycle racer Matteo Casuccio and quad rider Kees Koolen became lost from the official route outside of Antofagasta, Chile during Stage 5 on Thurdsay and may have inadvertently ridden through archeologically-sensitive areas in the desert. The riders publicly apologized and claimed that the mistake was genuine, with no malice intended. They were arrested that evening, held for thirty minutes and released, however it is possible that the Chilean court could require the two racers to remain in-country as the rally continues. The rally will enter Bolivia on January 11th.

(Courtesy: Jalopnik. Lead Photo: AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)