I feel it’s typically underrated simply how grueling off-road driving of any type can truly be. For people on the surface, hitting the paths seems to be like tons of enjoyable. However those that truly do it—even recreationally, at that—would know simply how tiring and exhausting it may be.
Driving past the confines of pavement opens you as much as all types of unknowns: issues like the weather, your machine’s reliability, wild animals, and sure, your personal psychological and bodily fortitude. And so my hat goes off to any and all off-road racers, particularly those that compete in races just like the Dakar Rally and the Africa Eco Race.
Whereas the Dakar Rally has been the topic of headlines fairly a bit just lately, there’s one more equally grueling off-road rally that some folks truly take into account to be the true non secular successor to the Dakar Rally. I’m, after all, speaking in regards to the Africa Eco Race (AER). I imply, the AER is an occasion that’s truly held in Dakar, so I get why people take into account this because the OG Dakar Rally. The rally follows plenty of Dakar founder Thierry Sabine’s unique route, too—round 6,000 kilometers throughout Morocco, Mauritania, and Senegal.
Now, if there’s one identify that’s been gaining plenty of traction on the AER, it’s undoubtedly Aprilia. The Italian producer took house the championship in final yr’s race, and this yr, it’s just about accomplished the identical factor, bagging a number of wins throughout a number of classes.
Photograph by: Aprilia
Jacopo Cerutti takes his second consecutive win on the AER.
Photograph by: Aprilia
Francesco Montanari sending it laborious with the Tuareg Rally paid off, as he bagged his first-ever stage win.
Jacopo Cerutti as soon as once more took the title, taking his second consecutive win within the AER aboard his trusty Aprilia Tuareg Rally, a racing machine based mostly closely on the Tuareg 660 journey bike. And regardless of being riddled with challenges—, stuff like a malfunctioning navigation system, and a failed tire mousse that compelled him to run a naked rim for part of the race—Cerutti nonetheless managed to bag 5 stage wins.
Photograph by: Aprilia
Staff Aprilia Tuareg Racing celebrates a well-earned victory.
However Cerutti wasn’t the one star of the present beneath the Aprilia umbrella. Teammates Franco Montanari and Marco Menichini solidified Aprilia’s presence within the AER even additional. Montanari took his first-ever stage win, whereas Menichini, the group rookie, gained the championship within the Junior U-25 class. He even completed sixth general, , simply ‘trigger he can.
Final however not least, the Aprilia Tuareg Rally flexed its muscle, and confirmed that it was an unstoppable drive, regardless of being a comparatively new face within the ADV sport. In fact, it paints an excellent image of the Tuareg 660, too, making us mere mortals need this bike much more. Certainly, present homeowners are resolute in realizing that they’ve probably the most succesful ADV bikes on the market.
