Cycle News

P76 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 cratic Republic of the Congo, with the 1992 race spanning the entire continent of Africa north to south) the Paris-Dakar was the brainchild of French explorer Thierry Sabine, a man who became obsessed with the Tenere desert after getting lost in it for three days while competing in the Abidjan-Nice race in 1977. Gualini had a similar feeling of the never-ending Tenere terrain on his return to Italy, and knew he found his calling. "It took two years to get the money to buy a [new] bike," Gualini said. Working odd jobs including as a lifeguard and with rallying gaining momentum as a sport in Europe, Gualini decided to enter Pharaohs Rally in Egypt on a 125cc Fantic two-stroke. Running 560 miles south non-stop through the night from Venice to Brindisi on the little Fantic to catch a three-day ship to Alexandria in Egypt was another experience for Gualini. "I jumped on the motorway with the bike that is not allowed. If the police see you, you are in prison," Gualini says. "With the petrol in the tank, I was putting in the oil because I have the two-stroke without [pre] mix. So, I was putting [oil in] during the ride without a stop. Just open the tank and put oil. Big, white smoke everywhere! "When I arrived, the boat was closed. It was 6 a.m., but the captain sees me. I have a back pack, I have a spare tire on the back. He says, 'Who is this stupid man?' But they stretch the rope and I get in." What followed was the kind of thing movies are made of. "It was really hard because I was not French. My name was not Beppe, it was 'The Italian' to the French officials. There were a lot of French guys with 125cc motocross bikes, with big tanks in aluminum, and cooling pumps to pump the petrol to the carburetor. Also, many [riders] have a mechanic and all this stuff. I thought I was f---ed. But I win the category in 125 and was 26th overall with 156 riders, because I was good in navigation." Gualini went from nobody to a minor celebrity almost overnight on his return to Italy. Within months, he was featured in renowned Italian publications Motociclismo, Motocross and Motosprint, their covers glowing with an image of the Italian ad- venturer on the 125cc Fantic and the great Pyramids of Egypt in the backdrop. Then the phone started ringing. "Honda, Yamaha call me. I said, 'You put the money, the best now.' But after the Pharaohs Rally, I also did the Atlas Rally (Morocco) with the Cagiva 125, because Cagiva said, 'Come with us.' So, I choose Cagiva." Success with the first Cagiva four-stroke, the 350 Ala Rossa

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