“The obvious goal is the podium”
معلومات عن الطاقم
JU
- A young mechanic used to tinkering vehicles in his garage, Josef Unterholzner founded in 1983 the company Autotest and built it up to be a supplier for international manufacturers (Audi, Porsche, Skoda, Lamborghini, McLaren…) with hundreds of employees.
- Since 2016, Unterholzner has been leading the Autotest Motorsport team, with notable successes in the FIA Electric and New Energy Championship.
- A driver himself, the motor enthusiast from South Tyrol took on the desert with a maiden participation in 2025 alongside Franco Gaioni (10th in the Dakar Classic, 1st from the H2B category). The duo returns for more.
FG
- In the wake of his father, Romano Gaioni, Franco competed in the Italian moto rally and enduro championship at the end of the 1980s before he jumped on cars as a rally driver in the 1990s.
- Making the most of his experience and navigating skills, Franco Gaioni became a co-pilot in 2012 alongside Fuzzy Kofler, winner of the FIA Electric and New Energy Championship with Josef Unterholzner’s Autotest Motorsport.
- Franco Gaioni partnered with Unterholzner for a maiden participation in the Dakar Classic in 2025 (10th in the Dakar Classic, 1st from the H2B category). The duo returns for more.
طموح
J.U.: “Last year was really rewarding for us. We came first in the H2B Classic, which is something I couldn’t even dream of, and now we want to do better in the overall standings. The obvious goal is to finish on the podium. We know it’s really hard but it’s our goal nonetheless.
The Dakar is hard anyway, especially on the people, but I can testify it’s a beautiful experience, also because we are part of a great team.”
F.G.: “Our first participation gave us much more than we expected. I had a lot of experience in regularity races, but none in navigation, so I was unsure whether it would end up being a disaster, or an event filled with satisfactions. Luckily, we did well and it actually felt like the Dakar is easy. It might sound strange, but that’s because it’s very well organised: the bivouacs, the roadbook, the starts… We can really just concentrate on our race, without any big worries and difficulties that could come with unclear information.
It’s challenging, of course. It’s a long race, it’s cold, and you race through the sand, but that’s normal. That’s what calls on your experience and skills with the dunes and the navigation. And I really enjoyed it. As a navigator, I often have my head down, looking at the roadbook or instruments, but the route was fantastic, the views were fantastic, and so were the people.
I felt a wide range of emotions when we finished. We were part of a group, in the middle of the desert. We really enjoyed our first and now I hope I can make even more of the second one. That’s something I’ve already experienced in other activities, like the New York Marathon. The first time was new, beautiful, wonderful, but you have to understand how it works and I really enjoyed the second one because I knew what to expect. The Dakar is the same: a marathon in the desert.”
