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The first five stages of the Dakar so far have not been particularly favorable for the Italians involved in the motorcycle category. To find the first of our compatriots we have to go down to 44th place. Tommaso Montanari, now in his third experience in the desert, experienced a week of ups and downs. At the wheel of his Fantic XEF 450 Rally Factory he made some navigational errors in the first stage and in the second he was the protagonist of a ruinous crash that caused him severe chest and back pains so much that he struggled to breathe. Aided by painkillers, in the following days he managed to recover a little and limit the damage and today he is 7 hours 10 minutes behind overall leader Daniel Sanders on a KTM.
Fifty-first overall is Andrea Winkler on a KTM 450 Rally Replica, while Tiziano Internò on a Honda CRF 450 Rally is a little further back in 56th place; 71st is Manuel Lucchese on a Husqvarna 450 Rally Replica of the Rebel X team, while Cesare Zacchetti on a Kove 450 Rally Ex is 75th.
Only 94th is Ottavio Missoni. The nephew of the famous fashion designer as well as the Piedmontese's own teammate in Kove Team Italia and like him racing in the Malle Moto category where no technical assistance is provided, experienced difficulties during the fourth day when he got stuck along a rocky section. At that point an episode occurred that only in a marathon such as the Dakar can be admired, namely the race organizer David Castera intervened in first person to help him "free" the bike.
Victim of a new accident in stage 5 for which he underwent medical checks, Paolo Lucci in 100th place will still start regularly on Saturday morning. Describing on social media this first part of the raid as a "rollercoaster," the RSMoto Honda Rally Team rider highlighted the critical issues given by the poor visibility and the massive presence of sharp boulders.
One hundred and sixteenth on Zeranta's KTM 450 Rally Replica is Iader Giraldi who, in addition to the navigational problems that have characterized his race so far, also having to deal with threats from a camel herder armed with a machine gun while at a bivouac stop at the end of the second day proved to be decisive for Lorenzo Maestrami of the RSMoto Honda Rally Team who was forced to retire.
