Senegal’s capital city, Dakar, is utterly the holy of holies of rally lovers. After a short interruption of the Paris-Dakar due to Mauritania’s political issues the competition bloomed again in 2009 under the new name of Africa Eco Race. There’re tons of interesting stories connected with this rally. One of them is the story of the so called “Desert Queen”.
In 1986 Honda decided to take part to the competition with a new prototype which was expressly conceived to win the Paris-Dakar. With this open purpose was created the NXR750, a two-cylinder powered by a compact 45° V-twin engine, offering 75PS. This legendary Honda won the Paris-Dakar at its debut and for the following 3 years, gaining the deserved title of “Desert queen”.
After 27 years Honda wants it all again wishing to dominate the African rally with the younger version of the NXR750: the new Africa Twin, the best-selling Honda model for the Adventure segment. With the support of Honda Europe and RedMoto, (Italian exclusive distributor for Honda Offroad models) the Desert Queen might relieve its glorious past thanks to the professional Italian rider Paolo Ceci.
12 stages, 6500 km (of which more than half as special stages) along Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal and their deserts. It’s the hardest competition of the world that Paolo Ceci is facing right now in Africa. The race started on January, 2nd and entered the Mauritanian territory on January 7th with Dakar as final destination.
Pakelo Lubricants is technical partner of this ambitious project. Ceci’s Africa Twin is in fact equipped with PAKELO KRYPTON MBK SAE 10W-40, a fully synthetic engine oil for 4-stroke motorcycles which need a consistent higher performance product. This engine oil was tested with success both during Merzouga and Tuareg Rallye under very strict conditions. For the suspensions Paolo Ceci is using a product of the AMFLUID series (precisely the 5W viscosity) which provides low friction and long lasting efficiency. In addition to the essential products for the cleaning of the chain (CHAIN LUBE MBK OFF-ROAD) and for the mechanical parts (BRAKE CLEANER MBK) we’re also suppling our COOLANT G30 READY MIX, a product of the Glysantin® line, which we distribute thanks to a co-branding agreement with BASF.
Right from the beginning during the first Moroccan stages of the competition Paolo Ceci scored great results, keeping the first or the second place in the general standing, although a small fueling issue during the 3rd stage forced Ceci to lose 40 minutes and a lot of energy. At the end of the last Moroccan stage Paolo Ceci is second in the temporary standing, right behind the KTM of the young revelation rider Israeli rider Gev Teddy Sella. Mauritania will be critical for the competition’s outcome of Paolo and its Desert Queen. Stay tuned.