Aprilia Tuareg participates in the Africa Eco Race | FormulaPassion.it

For Aprilia and finally “Back to Africa”: the project announced less than a year ago, to bring the Aprilia brand back into the great African raids, comes to fruition with the participation of two Aprilia Tuareg to the 2024 edition of Africa Eco Racewhich officially took place on December 30, from the Principality of Monaco.

The return to Africa

For the entire racing department of Aprilia Racingwho developed the racing version of the Tuareg, in close collaboration with GCorse by the Guareschi brothers, is a return to their first love, to those offroad disciplines which were the debut in competitions for the Italian brand. Not only that, by taking part in the Africa Eco Race, Aprilia returns to sail through mythical places and routes, those of the historic African Dakar, thus bringing to mind the successful experience of Aprilia's latest participations (the last Italian motorcycle to win the Dakar) in the rally most famous raid in the world, in the three-year period 2010-2012.

The Aprilia riders

Entrusted to the two official pilots Jacopo Cerutti And Francesco Montanarithe Aprilia Tuareg developed for rally raids was born on the excellent technical basis of the motorbike which, strictly derived from the series, he triumphed on his debut in the G-1000 class Italian Motorally Championship, with Jacopo Cerutti capable of imposing himself in six of the eight races held and achieving a sensational overall victory against the lighter specialist single-cylinder enduro machines in the Sardinia Rally. An overwhelming year, which also saw Francesco Montanari, third in the general classification, on the final podium of the Tricolore.

The competition version of Tuareg

Thanks to the experience accumulated in the Italian Motorally, and the participation last September in the first international race, the Transanatolia Rallywith Cerutti winner of a stage and third overall, the development of the Aprilia Tuareg for the Africa Eco Race progressed quickly, testifying to the great basic off-road qualities of the standard Tuareg. In an initial phase the work focused on cycling performance and subsequently on the search for motor performance in the prohibitive conditions expected in the race. Finally, the adoption of an additional tank increased the autonomy, necessary to cover the long distances of rally raids. The competition version of the Aprilia Tuareg is equipped with suspension Öhlins by Andreanifull titanium exhaust SC Project and specific air filter Sprint Filter. After the official start in Monaco, motorcycles and vehicles will embark for Morocco where on Tuesday 2 January the action will begin in earnest, with the first of the 12 scheduled stages. The goal is to reach the legendary finish line of the pink lake in Dakar on January 14th.