With the Tuareg 660, a motorcycle whose very name underlines its vocation and its destiny, Aprilia is preparing for a return to high-level rally raids in 2024: An ambitious project which will be supervised by Aprilia Racing, thus repeating the successful experience from Aprilia's previous participation in the Dakar, 2010-2012.
The Aprilia Tuareg project will be supervised by Jacopo Cerutti, 1989, who brings his great experience to the development of Aprilia Racing: the rider from Como has achieved several Italian motorcycle victories, as well as four Italian titles and a European title in enduro and has already participated six times in the Dakar. He will be supported by Francesco Montanari, a national level enduro rider who put in an excellent rookie performance at the Tricolore Motorally last year. Involvement in the Tricolore Motorally will continue in 2023, a season that will be entirely dedicated to the development of a project that has shown enormous potential from the start. On the starting line, two Tuareg 660s will be entrusted to Cerutti and Montanari.
But it is clear that Aprilia Racing experienced some setbacks during the second part of the 2022 MotoGP season, and we can therefore legitimately wonder if this additional project will not inconsiderately encroach on the resources of the Noale competition department...
The answer will be provided in the future but it should be noted that the racing version of the new Aprilia Tuareg 660 will be developed by Aprilia Racing with the technical assistance of GCorse (the brothers Gianfranco and Vittoriano Guareschi), who have already worked on the Tuareg participating in the Italian motorcycle championship during the year 2022.
A former motorcycle rider in Supersport from 1996 to 1998 and Superbike from 1999 to 2000, Vittoriano Guareschi was then a Ducati test rider before becoming team manager of the MotoGP team, succeeding Livio Suppo. At the end of the 2013 MotoGP season, Guareschi resigned from his position at Ducati to take on the role of team manager for Valentino Rossi's Sky Racing Team by VR46 in the Moto3 category which he then left in September 2014 for find his brother in the family Moto-Guzzi customization workshop.
The two men have already prepared the Tuareg 660 in 2022 and their experience, now focused on this model, will undoubtedly be a significant asset and one less thorn in the side for an Aprilia racing department mobilized full time for MotoGP.
Photo: Rodolfo Maraldi
Massimo rivola, CEO of Aprilia Racing: “ With its “Back to Africa” project, Aprilia Racing returns to the world of off-road racing, to the races that forged the division. We want to continue to develop in the world of motorcycle Grand Prix and in circuit racing. We want to discover new talents through our SP 250 championship and the RS 660 Trophy, but we are also embarking on a completely new project with the extraordinary Aprilia Tuareg. This is a further sign of development for a racing division that has seen significant growth in recent years achieving results never before seen by Aprilia. »
Roman Albesian, Technical Director of Aprilia Racing: “ We are taking up the torch of a history marked by great successes. Aprilia is the only Italian brand to have won a stage of the Dakar Rally, and in 2010 we reached the last podium in the general classification. These are just the first steps of a completely new project, and the goal of the 2023 season will be to start us on the path that will bring us back to the big races in the desert, but one thing is certain, the bike will be forged to based on the values that have always marked Aprilia's efforts in competition, that is to say innovation in the service of performance. »
Jacopo Cerutti : " I am very happy to be part of this project. Working with a 100% Italian brand that has such a great history in sport is a source of great pride. This will be a new challenge for me, having gained experience with the Enduro 450. I will be riding a twin with enormous potential and I will have a key role to play in its development. This is an exceptional opportunity for a driver, and I can't wait to get started. »
Alongside Aprilia Racing's Tuareg project, Aprilia will also be present at the venues of the 2023 Italian Motorcycling Championship to provide support to all those riding a Tuareg 660 in the new “entry level” GPX category, which has been specially created to make the Championship more accessible.
Aprilia remains faithful to its mission of introducing enthusiasts to the world of motorcycles, a goal it has pursued for years with the FMI Aprilia Sport Production Italian Championship and the Aprilia RS 660 Trophy.
Aprilia Racing, a legend forged from off-road racing
Off-road racing marked Aprilia's debut in the world of competition, which is not surprising for a brand that had already revealed its off-road soul with early models like the Scarabeo (produced in the 70s). The first racing motorcycle manufactured in 1974 in Noale was a 125cc cross. The brand won its first titles in the 125cc and 250cc categories in 1977. In 1978, it reached the podium and entered the thick of the motocross championships.
Aprilia Racing entered the adventurous world of the motorcycle world championship in 1985, but won its first championship title in 1992. The world of off-road racing gave it seven more world championship titles, the twin-cylinder SXV 450 and 550 winning three Supermoto championship titles in the drivers' category and four in the manufacturers' category from 2004 to 2011.
After its epic first appearance in the Paris-Dakar with the Touaregs in 1989, Aprilia returned to the big desert race in 2010 with a revolutionary twin-cylinder RXV Rally 450 that competed in three consecutive editions of the Dakar from 2010 to 2012. spectacular Rallye immediately took three stage victories and took third place overall in 2010, narrowly missing the glorious goal of a rookie triumph.
Aprilia remains the only Italian manufacturer to have won a stage of the Dakar, in 2012, with Francisco Lopez.
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