I think it’s often underrated just how grueling off-road riding of any sort can actually be. For folks on the outside, hitting the trails looks like tons of fun. But those who actually do it—even recreationally, at that—would know just how tiring and exhausting it can be.
Riding beyond the confines of pavement opens you up to all sorts of unknowns: things like the elements, your machine’s reliability, wild animals, and yes, your own mental and physical fortitude. And so my hat goes off to any and all off-road racers, especially those who compete in races like the Dakar Rally and the Africa Eco Race.
While the Dakar Rally has been the subject of headlines quite a bit recently, there’s yet another equally grueling off-road rally that some people actually consider to be the true spiritual successor to the Dakar Rally. I am, of course, talking about the Africa Eco Race (AER). I mean, the AER is an event that’s actually held in Dakar, so I get why folks consider this as the OG Dakar Rally. The rally follows a lot of Dakar founder Thierry Sabine’s original route, too—around 6,000 kilometers across Morocco, Mauritania, and Senegal.
Now, if there’s one name that’s been gaining a lot of traction at the AER, it’s definitely Aprilia. The Italian manufacturer took home the championship in last year’s race, and this year, it’s pretty much done the same thing, bagging multiple wins across multiple categories.
Jacopo Cerutti once again took the title, taking his second consecutive win in the AER aboard his trusty Aprilia Tuareg Rally, a racing machine based heavily on the Tuareg 660 adventure bike. And despite being riddled with challenges—you know, stuff like a malfunctioning navigation system, and a failed tire mousse that forced him to run a bare rim for a part of the race—Cerutti still managed to bag five stage wins.
But Cerutti wasn’t the only star of the show under the Aprilia umbrella. Teammates Franco Montanari and Marco Menichini solidified Aprilia’s presence in the AER even further. Montanari took his first-ever stage win, while Menichini, the team rookie, won the championship in the Junior U-25 class. He even finished sixth overall, you know, just ‘cause he can.
Last but not least, the Aprilia Tuareg Rally flexed its muscle, and showed that it was an unstoppable force, despite being a relatively new face in the ADV game. Of course, it paints a good picture of the Tuareg 660, too, making us mere mortals want this bike even more. Surely, current owners are resolute in knowing that they have one of the most capable ADV bikes out there.
Source: Aprilia
