Alessandro Botturi and Dunlop begin partnership with Africa Eco Race victory

Alessandro Botturi, one of Italy’s leading off-road and enduro riders, celebrated his new partnership with Dunlop in the best way possible with victory in the Africa Eco Race.

The Africa Eco Race, running since 2009, captures the true spirit of the original Dakar rally. It is arguably among the most demanding enduro events in the world, running through demanding and unforgiving African desert terrain.

Africa Eco Race covers 12 stages and 6500 kilometres. The rally started with a ceremonial start from Monaco, after which the field moved to the Italian port of Savona. After making the sea crossing on a ship to Tangiers in Morocco, riders crossed part of the Western Sahara desert before entering Mauritania. The final stage took riders to Lac Rose, the famous salt lake near Dakar.

Dunlop began their partnership with 2019 winner Botturi just ahead of the 2020 Eco Race. The 44-year old rider is also a former International Six Day Enduro winner and tested Dunlop’s latest Geomax Enduro EN91 and the ‘Rally Raid’ D908F RR before choosing a tyre partner for his 2020 campaign of enduro and rally events.

Botturi won on his Yamaha 450 WRF Rally bike with Dunlop D908RR tyres. Luca Davide Andreoni, Marketing Manager Dunlop Motorcycle Europe, said: “We are thrilled to start this new partnership in winning style. Alessandro rode brilliantly in demanding conditions, using his vast experience. We are proud he chose Dunlop D908RR for this event. This tyre was developed to help the latest generation of heavy, powerful bikes to tackle desert conditions and the combination of rider, bike and tyre delivered. We look forward to more success this season.”

Dunlop Europe is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of tyres with an impressive track record of motorsport successes. Dunlop Europe is a technical partner of Suzuki Endurance Race Team and Honda Racing in motorcycle Endurance World Championship Racing, the official tyre supplier to the FIM Moto2 and Moto3 World Championship and the most successful tyre brand in the history of the Isle of Man TT. Off-road, Dunlop is the choice of MXGP race winners and champions. On four wheels, Dunlop is the most successful tyre manufacturer in the history of the Le Mans 24h race.