P74
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
ing was, and with a Ducati Scrambler
450 under him, in 1979, the young
Gualini set off for Africa.
"I was in Algeria and the military
stopped me in a control and ask me
[for] money. They said, 'If you want to
pass, you pay.' I said, 'Sorry, I don't
have money,' "Okay, f--- off,' they
said. 'You don't pass here.'
"So, I stop there. I sleep one night
in the sleeping bag, me and my bike.
I go the second day with the pass-
port. They said, 'Okay, money!' I say,
'Sorry, no money.' They said, 'F--- off.
You don't pass.' Was like this for three
days."
(Left) 1992 Paris-Cape Town. Gualini
powers through the treacherous fesh-fesh
("sand like talcum power") in Cameroon
in central Africa. The Super Tenere suited
Beppe, this edition having a standard
motor that was good for 120 mph but with
official Yamaha factory race suspension.
line in Bergamo, Italy, Gualini's
introduction to motorcycling
came after he found an aban-
doned machine in the local
dump that he fixed to running
condition with the help of his
mechanic father.
"Bergamo is the town where
was [I was] born," Gualini be-
gins in very good, Italian-Eng-
lish. "There you have the Valli
Bergamasche enduro race,
because in Bergamo there are
the mountains and there are
two valleys, and this race ran
through those valleys."
Engulfed by a love of two
wheels, Gualini did not have
the financial means to com-
pete as a young lad. Instead,
he placed a priority on edu-
cation, going on to attain a
degree as a teacher in Physi-
cal Education.
But, even though competing
was not yet an option, travel-
On the beach of Dakar, 1986, before the
start of the last stage along the sea.
