Fantic

Forever young  

Franco Picco is a Dakar legend. He was a factory Yamaha motocross rider in 1985 when, almost by chance, he entered the 7th edition to perfect his sand riding skills. He finished third and enjoyed factory Yamaha Dakar rider status until 1990. The Italian has ten stage victories to his credit and three podiums from his first five participations. Out of sixteen participations in bikes, cars and quads, Franco has only abandoned once. He won the Marathon category in 2010 at the age of 55 before returning to the Original by Motul in 2021 at the age of 66! Last January, the man who has always ridden a Yamaha took part in the Dakar on a Fantic. An excusable infidelity given that the Italian brand is now selling rebadged Yamaha WRFs as Fantic XEFs... At the EICMA 2021 show Fantic unveiled a rally version. Franco Picco, the living legend of rally-raid in Italy, was entrusted with the task of developing the competition kit for this production machine, which will be available to W2RC competitors. Keen for the machine to be tested for the duration of the World Championship, it has allowed Franco to attain 10th place in the overall standings after two rounds.