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 | SA-Dakar 2011: Thirteen Aprilia Motorbikes to start in Argentina and Chile.
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The 32nd edition of the Dakar Rally and third in South America is only three weeks away - with a huge number of entries in bike/quads: 230 competitors at the starting line. They are all ready to face the 9605 km race divided in thirteen stages and so is the Team Aprilia Giofil.
Finished third overall last year, the team headed by Filippo Assireli will attend not only with great ambitions and motivation, but most of all; decided to give a great battle. The leading man will still be the Chilean Francisco "Chaleco" López, well supported by his fans in his own country.
The limitation imposed by ASO to all top riders that must now compete with 450 cc bikes, will be the central thread of the Dakar 2011, with many official teams, starting by KTM that monopolized the race over the years. To face this new challenge, Aprilia is decided to give a leading role to the RXV 4.5 Tuareg, with a year of experience in rally raid races in Africa, which has served to improve the bike and take its potential even higher.
The power and reliability of the twin-cylinder engine, the last modifications to the cycling and the new electronic mapping will be the strength of López to go for a great result in the Dakar. The Chilean rider, like last year, will count on Gerard Farrés as his "water-carrier", a precious help in such a long race.
Another Spanish that just arrived to take part of Team Aprilia Giofil is Joan Barreda. The young rider, winner of this year´s Baja Spain, comes from motocross and enduro. Barreda is considered as a growing start in the discipline and will try to hold faith to his reputation of a fast rider.
Another new entry to the team is Alain Duclos, the French/Congolese who has been the fastest private rider for years. Duclos finished the last edition of the Dakar in the 6th overall position and this year will look to improve this performance on his Aprilia Tuareg.
Last but not least is the Italian Alex Zanotti. San Marino´s man will be the only one to run with the "light" version of the Tuareg 4.5, a bike that has shown an optimal potential in Pharaons Rally. Of course, Alex will profit from his experience of last year searching to finish the Dakar in the best position.
Besides its five official riders, Aprilia will also support eight private riders, all on the saddleback of the twin-cylinder RXV. They will be Francesco Beltrami from Italy, Danish rider Jes Munk, Frank Verhoestraete and Jean-Pierre Lejeune from Belgium, Wouter Van Der Beek and Erik Koffman from Holland, the Greek rider Vasilis Orfanos and the Spanish Antonio Gimeno.
These thirteen riders that will be assisted by ten mechanics and three managers, along with important means: Two 6x6 trucks and three 4x4 cars will be there for the assistance service. No doubt that Aprilia Giofil will be the largest team at the start of the Dakar 2011 this next January 1st at the Obelisco in Avenida 9 de Julio in Buenos Aires.
2010/12/09 | 13:25 CET | ARTICLE: MR/HS/BAUER
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