Aprilia is the queen of the desert

The Aprilia Tuareg tackled the African trails and the desert for the first time by winning at its debut!

 The Aprilia riders, Jacopo Cerutti and Francesco Montanari, approached the race with confidence from the start, armed with a bike that had already proven to be a formidable weapon in 2023, winning the Italian Motorally title on its début and taking a spectacular podium in the Transanatolia rally in Turkey, where it had its first taste of big raids.

The all-Italian duo Tuareg-Cerutti 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.

Speed, perfect strategy, and the reliability of the Tuareg are the values that led Aprilia and Cerutti to their Dakar triumph against rivals like Botturi and Tarres, both on Yamaha, who attacked constantly.

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.

This great result is the proof of the extremely high qualities of a winning project like Tuareg is, demonstrating reliability and handling capacity both on everyday riding and in the extreme conditions like racing in the desert.

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