Deus Swank Rally di Sardegna 2019: Yamaha as a partner for the rebirth of the offroad event

Deus Swank Sardinia Rally 2019 – you say Sardinia Rally and you think of the stage of the WRC World Championship. In reality, however, this event also has a history linked to the world of two wheels. It was the 1984 when Renato Zocchi, upon returning from the Dakar he created it with his brother Guido. The first edition saw just 23 participants involved. Essentially, a group of friends who believed in a project which in its third edition saw around 1.000 "crews" leaving for an event which in the meantime had become a test of Rally Raid World Championship. A success due to passion, but also to epic editions and paths that would no longer be possible to imagine today. The Sardinia Rally was then canceled and remained "stopped in the pits" until more modern times, becoming however the only European stage of an international circuit that brought the most famous drivers, those we know for their exploits and successes to Dakar, on Sardinian land. Also thanks in this case, as well as other factors, to the characteristics of the Italian island, which offers navigation complications similar to the worst (or best, depending on your point of view) stages of the Dakar. Precisely to differentiate itself from the stage of the four-wheeled World Championship, it took the name of Sardegna Rally Race in the nine editions between 2008 and 2016, with a roll of honor that saw three successes Marc Coma, two of Cyril Depress and one of ours too Alessandro Botturi.
Today (or rather in May 2019) the event is reborn, but in a completely new way. No world-class riders (or maybe yes, but with a different approach), because it will not be a competitive competition with a fight to the last tenth, but rather an opportunity to vent the great desire for healthy off-road riding on motorbikes and of fun and, why not, also of drinking a nice beer at the end of the stage, all together.

A spirit which is that of the Deus Swank Rally formula, born with a first stop at the Falk steelworks, the MilanoRumble in April 2017, which have become 9 to date, passing through Bali, for events held on ice and snow and which saw the participation of around 6-700 people, with the underlying desire to have fun. The prevailing theme is vintage, but not only that, because the focus is on the taste of particular and refined things and other concepts consistent with the Deus brand, famous throughout the world. In addition to this, there are also important technical partners, such as Yamaha , Acerbis, Metzeler, Pakelo, Garmin and others. In fact, these are events with a light spirit, but always organized in a serious and professional way, because you never joke about safety on a motorbike.

The 2019 Deus Swank Rally of Sardinia will be no exception, participation in which (registrations will be open from 1 December on the dedicated website www.rallydisardegna.it) is subject to AICS Motociclismo Training membership and a medical certificate of sound and robust constitution, while Insurance coverage is included in the registration fee. There are three formulas planned, two competitive and one non-competitive. The first two are the, R1 , R2, where the bike will make the difference. The first category concerns the historic ones, registered in the "last century", therefore until 31 December 1999, the R2 instead for the most recent motorbikes. The formula Swank Experience instead it allows you to enjoy the experience with less desire to do it in the shortest possible time, but more in the name of passion and fun. For all, the times will always be self-timed by the pilot, but for the R1 and R2 navigation will take place exclusively "the old way", therefore with roadbook, while the use of more technological tools and GPX tracks will be allowed only for the "Experience ”. The vehicles used must be in order and suitable for road circulation and it is not permitted to carry passengers.

As for costs, let's start with 700 € of the R1 formula dedicated to the "historic", while there are 800 for the modern and for the "Experience", always with one 10% Off if registration takes place by end of January 2019. The route includes a prologue for the departure from the Autodromo Monza Saturday 18 May 2019 during the edition of "The Reunion", followed by a transfer to Genoa (50% on road and 50 off - avoidable for those who wish to carry it out by transporting the motorbike in a van etc.). From here the ferry will take everyone to Sardinia, for the start of the actual competition. First stop the following day (Sunday 19 May) from Alghero a Gavoi Gusana Lake, from here the next day we will arrive at Olbia, to close a Porto Torres Tuesday 21 May 2019. Each of the three stages will have one lunghezza minimum of 200 km and maximum of 230.

La partnership with Yamaha sees in particular the participation of a “official” team, consisting of five pilots. To date, two have been selected, one of which is George Rocca, former world skier. The other “heroes” will be selected before May, through four events Deus Swank Rally. And then obviously there will be the motorbikes from the house of the three tuning forks. For now the certainty is that of the presence of a special, made on a base XSR, which will draw inspiration from the integral motorcycle project, the TTR 2-Trac, who in the 90s experimented with a system for giving traction also to the front wheel (who knows, maybe we could see it again in the future, with an electric motor instead of a hydraulic system and electronics to manage it?).

As for the Deus Swank Rally of Sardinia 2019, we anticipate that it will most likely happen We at Motorionline will also be present and soon we will start revealing the details, keep following us on our pages!