Aprilia Tuareg 660 Rally To Take Part In Africa Eco Race

Aprilia Racing will be back in Monte Carlo this December 28 to defend its Africa Eco Race title. Slated to take place from December 28 to January 12, the 2025 Edition of the Africa Eco Race will be divided into 12 stages, across the African continent. The race will start from Tangier on December 31 and will end on January 12 at the legendary Lac Rose in Dakar. As for Aprilia Racing, this will be its second year in the race and will be joining the competition with quite high spirits after its debut win last year. 

As for the bike, the Aprilia Tuareg 660 Rally is built in collaboration with the Guareschi brothers’ GCorse. Based on the production-spec with the same name, the Aprilia Tuareg 660 Rally is powered by the same Euro5+ compliant 659 cc, parallel-twin engine with 52 mm larger throttle bodies. This powerhouse produces 79 bhp at 9,250 rpm and 70 Nm at 6,500 rpm, and it is complimented by an aftermarket SC Project exhaust, air filter, and a special mapping. 

To make it competitive in the rally space some of the hardware components had to be altered too including special tube-type tyres with lighter hubs. With all these changes, this bike already has several accolades under its belt. Before participating in the 2024 Africa Eco Race the bike had already won the Motorally G-1000 class, the Hellas Rally Raid M6 Class, and the multi-cylinder class of Baja Aragon. 

Defending the championship trophy this year will be Aprilia’s pilot Jacopo Cerutti. Riding alongside him will be Francesco Montanari, and new entry, Marco Menichini. Speaking about the race ahead of its participation, Cerutti noted, “In the Africa Eco Race, navigation is always a huge challenge and each day can hold surprises all the way to the last mile. ”

“After last year’s outstanding performance, it’s hard not to be optimistic about this edition, although being defending champs comes with great responsibility. We are confident in the Guareschi Team’s great performance,” exclaimed Massimo Rivola, team principal, Aprilia Racing.