Manuel Lucchese Dakar 2013

  The young Italian to Watch

the names of friends who have helped economically Manuel

Yamir Ortiz hasn't even started his first Dakar and he's already busy working on his motorcycle. Nothing serious, he just had to add the safety beacon which was missing at the technical scrutineering. The rider from Chuquicamata, a mining region in northern Chile, found the perfect solution. A few strategically drilled holes in the front of the fairing...But the red cord he put on race number 165 to attach the emergency flare wasn't really to the taste of the race officials! No problem, Yamir also had a solution for that: sticking another race number on top of the first! Now, the Honda Yamir and his father prepared together is ready and he's psyched up to ride the Dakar unassisted. His baptism of fire awaits!

Jes Munk

With an unrivalled skill for experiencing hair-raising adventures, Manuel Lucchese has managed to make it to the start of his first Dakar. The Italian rider only just succeeded in completing the stage at Le Havre, after having bought a second-hand bike the day before he was due to load it onto the ship. In the meantime, several sponsors compromised his participation by withdrawing two weeks from the start. But as usual, he believes in his lucky star and has managed to arrive in Lima thanks to the good intentions he has succeeded in drawing on: “I didn't have enough money to buy my plane ticket and a biker who took part last year, Jess Munk, bought it for me when he learned that I had a major problem. After that, I arrived at the airport with my spare engine in my arms and they wanted to charge me an enormous excess bagage fee. Fortunately, I was able to sweet talk the hostess, who struck off around twenty kilos and recorded the engine as a musical instrument. Once I arrived in Lima, I didn't have a hotel to stay in, so I launched an appeal on Facebook and somebody offered to put me up at there house. So, for the last three days, I've been sleeping at the home of my new friend Vincenzo!” All that remains for Manuel is to complete the 8,500 kilometres of the race, which probably hold a whole host of surprises. Watch this space…