AT THE HALFWAY POINT, APRILIA LEADS THE AFRICA ECO RACE

Dakhla (West Sahara), 6 January 2024 - The Africa Eco Race (Monaco-Dakar, 15th edition) arrives at the halfway point and the legendary Lac Rose of Dakar is drawing closer, with Aprilia Tuareg continuing to lead in the overall standings. With three stage wins out of the five held thus far, ridden impeccably by Jacopo Cerutti, the Italian twin cylinder has led the African rally from the outset.
A great result - the fruit of all the hard work done by Aprilia Racing and GCorse, as well as further demonstration of the Aprilia Tuareg base model’s outstanding off-road capabilities, a bike which won its début in the Italian Motorally Championship and which has already proved to be capable of measuring up to adversaries in a much more demanding setting like the African desert.

The fifth leg, the last one before the day of rest, from Fort Chacal to Dakhla, was the scene of yet another thrilling battle that came down to a question of minutes between Cerutti’s Tuareg and the two Yamahas ridden by Alessandro Botturi and Pol Tarres, direct rivals in the standings.

Managing to catch up with Tarres after a navigation mistake, Cerutti then stayed with his rivals, closing out the stage in third place with a minimal gap. Cerutti’s advantage in the standings is now 4’15” over Botturi and 4’45” ahead of Tarres.

The results were extremely positive for rookie Francesco Montanari as well, entrusted with the second Aprilia Tuareg on the starting grid. Setting out to take stock of a race that is entirely new for him, the rider from Como has gradually increased his pace, consistently remaining in the top ten. His seventh place of the day allows him to move up yet another position in the overall standings, where he is now seventh. The voyage to Dakar will resume on Monday, 8 January, with the first stage in Mauritania, from Dakhla to Chami, 635 km including 205 of special timed trials.

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JACOPO CERUTTI: “Today went well once again. At km 50, I made a small navigation mistake and then I managed to get back on track just behind Tarres. At that point, I preferred staying with him to manage the race, although he dropped the pace for Botturi, rather than trying to pull ahead solo and risk making any other mistakes.

The results thus far are super positive. We were optimistic about doing well, but I never expected to be in the lead at this point in the race. We’ll enjoy the day of rest, well aware that we are in the mix, and I am really happy to have already won three legs, but obviously nothing has been decided yet. Monday we’ll enter Mauritania and we have plenty of special trials that await us where everything can still change.”

FRANCESCO MONTANARI: “I'm pleased. I achieved a good result today. Besides a mistake in the initial phases, I was then able to focus and navigate well, so I tried to push a bit harder, first catching up with a rider who had started ahead of me, and then with another right after the fuel stop. I then managed to stay with him, without making any mistakes, which is satisfying.

The results are truly positive. I am happy with the way things have gone so far, for Jacopo too. That being said, I’m keeping my feet firmly planted on the ground. I am well aware that I still need to gain a lot of experience. Sometimes I even make a few too many mistakes. I can’t wait to start on the second part of the race! I’d also like to thank all the members of the team, who are doing an insanely good job.”

Source of the images and info: www.africarace.com/en