Aprilia Tuareg Racing kicks off the 2026 season: starting with the Africa Eco Race

THE GOAL IS TO CONFIRM ONCE AGAIN ITS STATUS AS A LEADING FORCE IN MAJOR INTERNATIONAL RALLY RAID AND TO WIN IN EUROPE

Over the past two years, the Aprilia Tuareg Rally has dominated the rally raid scene at both national and international levels, winning every competition it has entered. Among its achievements are the titles in the 2024 and 2025 Africa Eco Race, the Baja Aragón, the Hellas Rally Raid, the Ro Rally Marathon, and the last three Italian Motorally Championships. A simply perfect two-year period, highlighting the extraordinary synergy between the Tuareg Rally and its riders.

The Aprilia Tuareg Rally, developed in close collaboration with GCorse by the Guareschi brothers, has established itself as a benchmark in the rally raid scene, demonstrating competitiveness, reliability and outstanding versatility across all types of terrain. This journey has led the Tuareg Rally to be recognized as the “Queen of Africa,” in recognition of its dominance in African rally raid competitions. Following the results achieved last season, Aprilia Tuareg Racing heads into 2026 with an ambitious goal: to claim the Africa Eco Race title for the third consecutive time.

Following the Africa Eco Race, which starts on 25 January and concludes in Dakar on 7 February, comes the major new addition to the 2026 calendar: the participation in the European Tout Terrain Rally Cup, made up of four rounds: Spain (April 12–18), Greece (May 25–31), Romania (July 10–18) and Italy (October 13–17). This represents a natural step forward for the Aprilia Tuareg Racing Team which, after dominating the Italian Motorally Championship for the past three seasons, now raises the bar by setting its sights on the European championship.

JACOPO CERUTTI 
“Our goals are, of course, to always do our best and aim for victory in both the European Championship and the Africa Eco Race. The level has risen significantly this year, with many strong competitors, but we always prepare to win and aiming for a third consecutive title. It’s an extremely unpredictable and demanding race, where nothing can ever be taken for granted until the very last kilometer, so we will give it our all. The same goes for the European Championship: our goal is to do our best and try to win right from our debut.”

FRANCESCO MONTANARI
“I can’t wait to be back in the desert. My main goal at the Africa Eco Race is to achieve a result I’ve been chasing for two years. I’ll take each stage day by day, giving my all and aiming for the best possible result. I’ll try to win a few stages and stay in the positions that matter. I’m also happy we’ll be competing in the European Championship this year: the goal there will be to achieve the best possible results, considering that we performed well last year and I’d like to repeat that, as these races are more in my wheelhouse compared to the Motorally. I hope we have fun and that we can all make 2026 a great year, it would be the cherry on top of all the incredible work done by the team“.

MARCO MENICHINI
“The 2026 season is underway, and we’re ready for the Africa Eco Race. The Tuareg Rally bikes are incredible. After the latest updates and tests, I have a great feeling with the bike. I get on well with the team, so expectations are high, and I’m ready to fight. In such long races, anything can happen, and it’s always hard to make predictions, but we’ll give our best. There’s also the new addition of the European Championship, which I think is fantastic. Last year we competed in two races, the Hellas Rally Raid and the Ro Rally Marathon, both of which were fantastic. We encountered a huge variety of terrain and the experience was very positive. Since it’s a new championship, we don’t know exactly what to expect, but we’ll do our best.”

VITTORIANO GUARESCHI
“We had an extraordinary 2025, with numerous tests with very positive feedback and participation in international competitions, all of which we won. This gives us great confidence as we approach 2026. At the Africa Eco Race, we will start with the number 1 on the bike for the third consecutive year, which means that all eyes will be on us. But we are ready: it will be a challenging race, and we can count on an extremely competitive bike and strong, determined riders who are confident in their abilities. This year, we will also face a significant new challenge by participating in the European Tout Terrain Rally Cup. Last year we competed in two races, the Hellas Rally Raid and the Ro Rally Marathon, and won both, so our goal is to continue growing and succeeding in Europe as well.”