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Category: Superbikes
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THE ALL-ITALIAN DUO OF JACOPO CERUTTI AND APRILIA TUAREG TRIUMPHS AT ITS DÉBUT IN THE DESERT IN THE 2024 AFRICA ECO RACE
LEADING IN THE OVERALL STANDINGS FROM START TO FINISH OF THE 6000 PLUS KILOMETRES, THE ITALIAN OFF-ROAD BIKE PROVES TO BE A WINNING PROJECT
ROOKIE FRANCESCO MONTANARI RIDES HIS TUAREG TO DAKAR, FINISHING TWICE ON THE SPECIAL TRIALS PODIUM AND CLOSES OUT HIS FIRST AFRICAN EXPERIENCE WITH A FABULOUS TOP TEN FINISH
MASSIMO RIVOLA: “DOMINATING IN THE DÉBUT, AN UNDERTAKING NO ONE HAS EVER ACCOMPLISHED”
Dakar (Senegal), 14 January 2024 - The all-Italian duo remained in the lead from start to finish for the six thousand plus kilometres over breathtaking roads, trails, sand, and dunes. From Monaco to the magical pink lake of Dakar, Jacopo Cerutti and his Aprilia Tuareg chose the most thrilling way to win the 2024 edition of the Africa Eco Race, dominating and writing one of the most epic pages in the recent history of big African raids.
The Italian pair departed on their début, reckoning with adversaries who were extremely talented and, above all, highly expert on the legendary route that goes from Europe to Dakar through Morocco and Mauritania.
The Aprilia Tuareg, developed from the factory product by Aprilia Racing with the technical collaboration of the Guareschi brothers’ GCorse, tackled the African trails and the desert for the first time. Of course, during 2023, the bike had already proven itself, winning the Italian Motorally title in its début and taking a spectacular podium in the Transanatolia rally in Turkey, where it had its first taste of big raids. But taking on the African desert for the first time on a route that has made off-road history, promised to be much more difficult.
The Aprilia riders, Jacopo Cerutti and Francesco Montanari, approached the race with confidence from the start, armed with a bike that had already proved to be a formidable weapon, thanks to the quality of the original project.
His victory in the special trials of the first two days allowed Cerutti to build up an advantage over extremely strong rivals like Botturi and Tarres, both on Yamaha, who attacked constantly in an attempt to come back.
Speed, perfect strategy, and the reliability of the Tuareg are the values that led Aprilia and Cerutti to their Dakar triumph.
For Francesco Montanari, a true rookie, finishing the race in Dakar was a fantastic result. To this, he added two podiums in as many legs, as well as being a constant presence in the top end of the standings for the special trials and a fabulous eighth place overall.
Massimo Rivola - Aprilia Racing CEO
“What Jacopo did, winning in Dakar, is unprecedented. It is a truly enormous sports undertaking that exalts a great champion, an exceptional Italian bike, designed, developed, and manufactured here in Noale, and an incredible job done by Aprilia Racing and the Guareschis, to whom I extend my special thanks. Having led from the first day of one of the most difficult races in the world, competing with extremely skilled adversaries, is an extraordinary sign of strength that went beyond our wildest expectations.”
Vittoriano Guareschi - GCorse
“Fantastic! Jacopo was exceptional throughout the entire race, always setting the pace. The second leg was the key, with that leap ahead in the standings which then allowed him to manage the competition like a great champion. Francesco also did a great job, taking the bike to Dakar in his début and even snatching satisfaction in the special trials more than once. What the entire team did is incredible. It was our first experience against extremely skilled adversaries, such as the Yamaha team, which is extremely experienced, especially in the part of the desert in Mauritania.
The bike was perfect - never a problem. With this triumph, the Tuareg project demonstrated all of its base qualities: balanced weight, suspension travel, the character of the engine, and the quality of the materials. The factory bike already sets a great bar.”
Jacopo Cerutti
“It is all wonderful. It was an honour for me to collaborate in the development of the bike with Aprilia Racing and GCorse. In very little time, we reached incredible milestones and I honestly did not think that we would manage to be as ready as we were at the start of this event. However, I knew that the factory Tuareg already provided us with an outstanding starting base and then the rest is down to the great job the entire team did over the past few months. I certainly didn’t expect to win. Maybe starting the race without the pressure of being one of the favourites was a good thing and a bit of good luck also helped, which is never a bad thing because in an African raid, the unexpected is always just around the corner, but instead, everything seemed to go smoothly. A fantastic experience and feeling. Now we can enjoy the celebration.”
Francesco Montanari
“I'm extremely happy to have arrived in Dakar and to have managed to improve leg after leg, finishing in the top positions a few times. All of this was possible because I was placed in the ideal conditions to express my potential. The bike is fantastic to ride and the entire team did an exceptional job, both preparing for the race and during these two weeks in Africa. So, I wish to thank Aprilia for this opportunity and all the members of team GCorse for the constant support. I'm obviously also happy about Jacopo’s splendid victory. He did extremely well and he deserves it. I hope that this will be a starting place for me. I would like to continue improving because I think I demonstrated that I'm able to make a play of it with the best.”
Aprilia Racing, a legend born with off-road competition
Off-road competitions were Aprilia’s début racing terrain. It’s no surprise for a brand which, from its very first ’70s era models like the Scarabeo, had revealed its soul dedicated to the off-road world. In 1974, the first racing bike from Noale was a 125 cross. As early as 1977, the first Italian titles arrived in the 125 and 250 classes. Then, in 1978, came the first podiums and the win in the Cross World Championship.
In 1985, the speed racing adventure began for Aprilia Racing in World Championship GP Motorcycle Racing, but the first world title came from trial in 1992. From the off-road world, seven more world titles would arrive, from 2004 to 2011, with the SXV 450 and 550 twin-cylinders protagonists in the Supermoto championship, earning three Rider titles and four Manufacturer titles.
After an epic first appearance in the Paris-Dakar with Tuareg in 1989, Aprilia returned to the big race in the desert in 2010 with the revolutionary RXV Rally 450 twin-cylinder, which participated in three consecutive editions of the Dakar until 2012. The spectacular Rally took three leg victories straight away and finished third overall in 2010, just missing the spectacular achievement of winning in its début.
To this day, Aprilia remains the last Italian manufacturer to have won a leg in the Dakar, in 2012.
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JACOPO CERUTTI, SECOND, STRENGTHENS HIS GRIP ON THE LEAD IN THE OVERALL STANDINGS OF THE AFRICA ECO RACE WITH FOUR LEGS LEFT TO REACH DAKAR
FRANCESCO MONTANARI CONTINUES TO ASTONISH, ONCE AGAIN THE LEADING ROOKIE, JUST MISSING ANOTHER LEG PODIUM
With just four legs left to reach the final destination of Dakar, Aprilia continues to battle at the top of the Africa Eco Race. At the end of almost 400 km of special trials tackled yesterday in segment number 8, the Aprilia Tuaregs ridden by Jacopo Cerutti and Francesco Montanari occupied second and fourth place respectively.
On the treacherous sand dunes of Mauritania, Cerutti and his Tuareg were once again protagonists, putting in an outstanding performance and battling with direct rivals, Alessandro Botturi and Pol Tarres, with whom he shared much of the route today, taking on some complicated navigation. The prestigious placement earned today allows him to increase his lead in the overall standings, with his closest adversary, Botturi, at a gap of 3’03, whereas Tarres is 22’22” behind.
With a splendid third place two days ago, his first leg podium in his first ever race in the African desert, Francesco Montanari was once again a protagonist in yesterday’s segment, finishing fourth and barely missing another sensational podium. This is an outstanding result that allows him to consolidate his sixth place in the overall standings - the best of the rookies.
Today, the riders will tackle the ninth leg, returning to the Amodjar bivouac after travelling 467 km, including 364 km of timed special trials.
For updates on all the news, follow the web page
www.aprilia.com/it_IT/aprilia-racing/aprilia-tuareg-rally/africa-eco-race/
JACOPO CERUTTI
“A complicated day, but one we came out of on a positive note! At the beginning we found rather soft sand dunes and I got stuck in the sand a couple of times. What’s more, I quickly found myself blazing the trail, having caught Botturi after just 15 km. At that point, identifying the right trail wasn’t simple, but in spite of this, I continued blazing the trail for practically the entire leg, even when Tarres caught us, all the way to the end.”
FRANCESCO MONTANARI
“This was a fantastic leg. In the first 80 km, we found a lot of sand and I found myself in difficulty on a couple occasions, but I managed to overcome quickly. After that, I navigated well and maintained a good pace. Towards the end, I tried to push a little harder, so I managed to arrive at the destination extremely close to the top three, which is truly satisfying, also because I always feel good on the bike.”
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Credit Cards
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Broad accessibility: credit cards are available in most regions
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Availability of additional transaction fees
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Considerably slow payouts as compared to other methods
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Availability of transaction fees during withdrawals
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Limited availability compared to credit cards
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Withdrawal limitations, which may be a problem for high rollers
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Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, which increases risks
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Some countries prohibit the usage of crypto in betting
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Transactions cannot be cancelled or refunded
A limited number of online sportsbooks offer their members to use crypto for MotoGP betting strategy. It may take time to find a worthy platform, but punters can get multiple benefits in exchange.
Which Option is the Most Convenient for MotoGP Betting?
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E-wallets are also gaining popularity among punters, as they are secure and reliable. However, they are still unavailable in some regions and require users to pass an additional verification. All in all, the choice of a payment method depends on the bettor’s preferences – but be responsible before making the final decision and placing your bet on MotoGP.
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JACOPO CERUTTI IS SECOND AT THE FINISH LINE IN MAURITANIA AND MAINTAINS THE LEADERSHIP IN THE STANDINGS
EXTRAORDINARY PERFORMANCE FOR ROOKIE FRANCESCO MONTANARI AS WELL, FINISHING FIFTH FOR HIS BEST PLACEMENT YET IN THE RALLY
After the well-deserved day of rest, the Africa Eco Race resumed yesterday with the sixth leg, from Dakhla, Morocco, to Chami, Mauritania. Both the Aprilia Tuaregs, entrusted to Jacopo Cerutti and a Francesco Montanari, were once again great protagonists, with Cerutti second and still leading the overall standings, and rookie Montanari putting in an outstanding performance, fifth with his best result since the start of the rally.
In the 204 km of today’s special trials, Cerutti once again battled with his direct rivals in the standings, Alessandro Botturi and Pol Tarres. The rider from Como reached the destination in second place, just 1’07” behind the Spaniard and 45” ahead of Botturi. In the overall standings, the three-way battle gets more thrilling by the moment, with Cerutti’s Tuareg maintaining the lead at 1’58” over Tarres and 3 minutes ahead of Botturi, both on Yamahas.
For Aprilia, it was another picture perfect day, with both Tuaregs at the top thanks to Francesco Montanari’s fifth place, just 3’58” behind the winner. The rider from Como, in his very first raid of such an extraordinarily demanding calibre, thereby took his best result since the start of the race, also moving up to sixth place in the overall standings.
The seventh leg is scheduled for today, where the route will follow a ring-shaped path that starts and ends in Chami, for a total of 475 km, including 454 special trials.
For updates on all the news, follow the web page
www.aprilia.com/it_IT/aprilia-racing/aprilia-tuareg-rally/africa-eco-race/
JACOPO CERUTTI
“It was a strange leg. A large part of the route was straight but it was hard to identify the track and that made navigation complicated. In these conditions, I preferred managing the race without taking too many risks, so second place is fine; I didn’t lose much ground on my adversaries. We are already looking forward to today’s leg!”
FRANCESCO MONTANARI
“The route wasn’t one of the most thrilling ones, with lots of straight lines at high speed, but navigation was not at all simple, especially at the end, so I can consider myself satisfied. I didn’t make many mistakes and I navigated well, consistently maintaining a good pace.”
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JACOPO CERUTTI TAKES THE FOURTH LEG OF THE AFRICA ECO RACE TO STRENGTHEN HIS GRIP ON FIRST PLACE IN THE OVERALL STANDINGS
FRANCESCO MONTANARI ALSO IMPROVES, EIGHTH IN THE LEG AND IN THE OVERALL STANDINGS
Aprilia Tuareg and Jacopo Cerutti confirm their extraordinary form once again in the fourth leg of the Africa Eco Race. The longest stage of the entire race, with its 472.41 km including 467.36 of special trials, had the riders competing in Morocco from Oued Draa to Fort Chacal in the outskirts of Laayoune. A route immersed in breathtaking scenery, with fast sections alternating with long stretches of navigation through the desert.
Cerutti got the better of his direct rivals, Pol Tarres, at a gap of 2 minutes, and Alessandro Botturi, more than 4 minutes behind the Aprilia rider at the finish. For Jacopo, this is the third win out of four legs held, an impeccable streak. The podium today reflects the situation in the overall standings, with Cerutti in the lead over Tarres (+08:55) and Botturi (+10:22).
Francesco Montanari is also steadily improving, in his début in big raids, eighth today with the second Tuareg in the race and eighth in the overall standings.
The convoy will remain in Morocco today as well for the fifth leg, from Fort Chacal to Dakhla on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. There will be 592.6 total kilometres, 404.06 of which special trials, ahead of a well-deserved day of rest for teams and riders.
JACOPO CERUTTI
"Fantastic leg yesterday. The route was spectacular and I did a long section with Tarres and Botturi after catching up with them around km 200. The tracks were fast, less bumpy than the past few days, and that allowed me to ride well and to have fun, even if navigation was rather demanding. Now we prepare for today’s leg ahead of the well-deserved day of rest and the transfer to Mauritania."
FRANCESCO MONTANARI
"A good day. I navigated well throughout the day but I was rather far forward towards the end and there were no tracks to follow, so I lost a bit of time. In any case, the potential is there. We need to avoid mistakes and exploit the opportunities that arise."
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