“It’s beautiful to see a passion go from one generation to the next”

Reaching its 46th edition, the Dakar has given rise to inspiring legacies spanning decades. Take the name Traglio. In the early 1990s, Maurizio Traglio was preparing vehicles for iconic figures such as Clay Regazzoni, Klaus Seppi… He then participated in the event himself and went on to take over the team Tecnosport, a major player in off road races since the 1980s. In 2024, one of their cars -a Nissan Pathfinder- will be driven by Maurizio’s son, Lorenzo, who already jumped in the action two years ago when his father had to retire just ahead of the race. This time, Lorenzo had much more time to prepare for the Dakar Classic and he’s accompanied by a Dakarian whose story with the Traglios also runs over more than two decades: Rudy Briani, whose first participation dates back to 2001. Lorenzo has known Rudy ever since he was a kid, with the elder helping his young friend to get his license for international events. The Saudi desert awaits them!

L.T.: “My first Dakar happened a bit by chance. My father was going to do it and then he was positive to Covid… I was told about this at midnight and I flew at 8 in the morning! It’s a huge honor for me to represent the name Traglio in the Dakar. I’ve followed my father’s adventures since I was a kid and it was harder to get the info at the time. It’s a beautiful thing to see a passion go from one generation to the next, furthermore when we’re talking about a sport like this that pushes your limit.
The first goal is always to make it to the end, which is not an easy task in the Dakar, even in the Classic. They might say it’s a bit of a lighter challenge, it’s still two weeks of racing in the desert. But we want to go back home with a good result and a good experience.
I love the unknown, going into these great outdoors, facing varied routes, not knowing what will come after the next turn… It’s fascinating. For me, it’s like yacht racing events such as the Vendée Globe. It’s a challenge, you’re in touch with nature and mostly, the unknown means adventure, it makes you feel kind of like an explorer.”


R.B.: “After so many years, it’s naturally a beautiful emotion to be back in the Dakar. If you want to challenge yourself, face something extreme in the world of motors, this is the race. I’ve done it with several pilots in South America and it brought me extreme emotions, may they be positive or negative. And doing the Dakar Classic allows me to have a different approach, less competitive in terms of pure speed, but extremely intense when it comes to managing your pace. I already had a bit of experience in regularity races with events like the Monte Carlo Storico.
And now the virus is back! It’s always like that in the Dakar. When you’re doing it, you’re like: ‘But why am I here? Why am I not home with my wife and kids?’ And then only a few days after returning home, you want to be back for the next edition. It’s a bit of an anomaly in the human mind. And this is also a job for me, which brings a professional perspective on top of the personal emotions, which have always been huge.”