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P78 Interview F O R M E R DA K A R R A L LY R AC E R B E P P E G U A L I N I Sometimes the power of the mind outweighs the needs of the body, pushing it to the outer limits of its physiological design. "The first Paris-Dakar, I ride 72 hours without sleep and without eating," Beppe says. "Only to fill [gas] up in the middle of the des- ert, negotiating the price of the petrol in a drum of 200 liters!" Read that again. The man rode for three days and nights, non-stop, with no sleep or food. "I arrive at the finish of first day and the official said, 'Beppe, move.' I fill up the tank and go. "No eat, no sleep. I fell down several times because I was sleeping [on the bike] and I don't use the goggles because I need fresh air. So all the sand come in my eyes and I have conjunc- tivitis. My eyes were completely finished, so I don't have good visibility. Was to the limit of my capacity. "The people said, 'shit, you can't ride 72 hours.' Okay. I have done it. But only with the brain. I say, if you have the brain, and no physics, you can achieve. If you have physics and no brain, well, I have seen world champions of motocross and great American, Italian, European and French riders arrive, and after two days, they are crying in the desert. They have the fear. They do not see the exits. Don't see the fin- ish, only desert. They cry, and they leave the Paris-Dakar." Riding through countries that were conflict zones bought its own set of challenges for the Paris-Dakar field. "What I say all the time, remember, that you are sure you are starting but you are not sure you are coming back," Gualini says. "For three times in Paris-Dakar they shoot at me, the military. Tried to kill me. But [I] was not shot. We were in a civil war in Angola. So, you take thousands of risks you can't imagine. "One time a truck exploded in the desert on a landmine. In the road book, in Mauritania, there (Above) Gualini also competed with distinction on four wheels, with a record of 15 Camel Trophy starts, widely regarded as the toughest race ever conceived for cars. Here, Gualini does his best to cross a river in Borneo with a handmade wooden raft. (Right) Gualini powering through the Angolan jungle during the massive 1992 Paris-Cape Town event on the Yamaha Super Tenere. hours in the desert, and the shock absorber exploded com- pletely. So, I had an accident. "Another time we had an ac- cident was in the dunes. There was another rider that was for two months in a coma. The bike arriv- ing [on] the head, break the head. When I arrive, I don't have the power to overtake, so I jump from the bike. I roll over. I don't have any accident rolling on the dunes, but my bike land on my head. So, I broke the ligaments. Was the only two accidents I had." The Paris-Dakar is legendary not only as a motorsports event, but as test of human endurance.