The return of the Aprilia brand to the great African raids is getting closer and closer, with the new Aprilia Tuareg prototype developed for racing in the desert having completed its first test kilometres.
Unveiled to the public on May 27 during the Aprilia All Stars festival, the Tuareg developed for rally raids was born on the technical basis of the bike which, strictly derived from the series, is currently the protagonist in the Italian Motorally Championship, the terrain chosen to set the development path of the ‘Back to Africa’ project.
Developed by Aprilia Racing in collaboration with GCorse of the Guareschi brothers, the Aprilia Tuareg born for races in the desert takes advantage of the basic off-road qualities of the standard Tuareg 660, introducing modifications to face the severe African raids. In this first phase, work was concentrated on the chassis, with a new modular frame and revised geometry to guarantee stability at high speeds.
The racing version of the Aprilia Tuareg is equipped with Öhlins by Andreani suspension, complete Sc Project titanium exhaust and specific Sprint Filter air filter. Metzeler instead chose Aprilia to develop products for future use in rally raids.
After the first tests at the Riola Sardo motocross track were successfully completed, last weekend Aprilia Racing and GCorse returned to compete at the Italian Motorally Championship trials in Umbertide. Both the official Aprilia Tuareg 660 with Metzeler tyres, entrusted to Jacopo Cerutti and Francesco Montanari, established themselves among the protagonists of the G-1000 class, reserved for multi-cylinder motorcycles over 600 cc.
The Umbertide stage also saw over 50 motorcyclists get on the saddle of the Aprilia Tuareg 660 for a special off-road test ride, on the routes that framed the Motorally stage. All the participants, welcomed by a technical presentation by the brothers Gianfranco and Vittoriano Guareschi right next to the bikes involved in the race, were able to fully discover the performance of the Noale twin-cylinder adventure.
Source: Ansa
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