“It’s about exploring with a free spirit”
معلومات عن الطاقم
F.V.
- It appears Francesco Valente’s path and the Dakar off-road tracks were meant to cross. The Italian insurer was born just as the trailblazers participating in the third edition of the mythical rallye-raid took on the desert, in 1981.
- His father rapidly hooked him with the off-road virus and Valente built up to face the 2026 Dakar, starting on the day he turns 45 years old. The Saudi desert will be his party alongside his life partner Vichi Carlevaris.
- Fascinated by pristine adventures, especially in the Swiss mountains where they’ve settled, Valente and his partner move away from the snow to ride a different kind of powder, storming through sand and dust with a 2004 Mercedes G55 AMG they’ve restored and nicknamed Otto san.
V.C.
- A legendary event since its inception, the Dakar presents countless attractions that give it a unique appeal. For Vichi Carlevaris, it’s virtually all about discovering the Saudi desert.
- Used to exploring mountains and great outdoors skiing or riding her bike, the young dentist discovered the magic of the Dakar thanks to her life partner Francesco Valente, who passed her the virus and convinced her the two of them could live a bigger than life adventure with the Classic.
- Indeed, the duo worked tirelessly to restore a 2004 Mercedes G55 AMG - nicknamed Otto san as it comes from Japan - and head to Saudi Arabia. Also keen on photography, Carlevaris makes the most of her sharp eye to navigate and admire the desert.
طموح
F.V.: “Motors have inspired me since I was kid. My father had an off-road vehicle and we used to watch TV reports about rally-raids in the desert. So, I always watched the Dakar but I never looked at it like a race, a matter of speed. To me, it’s about the adventure, it’s about exploring with a free spirit. And obviously we’re not coming to win but to live an adventure, to get a bit of that Dakarian spirit. And we feel like the Dakar Classic totally matches our view.
So, we felt that was something for us and we started looking for cars. We tried a few ones, but we still had some doubts, because they were really old cars, not that much fun to drive. But the change of regulations, meaning cars up to 2004 can participate, we picked things up to find something. And we found a car in Oslo, in Norway, but it came from Tokyo, so that’s why we nicknamed it Otto san.
The preparation of the car has been a true adventure in itself. With the support and generous advice of the global Mercedes G enthusiasts’ community, we carefully restored and adapted Otto san to meet FIA safety standards while keeping it as close as possible to the original spirit of the G-Class. Without their help, passion, and shared knowledge, we would never have reached this point.”
V.C.: “Francesco infected me with the Dakar virus. I have to say that it won me over, I really liked it. It's something I didn't know before and I'm glad I got to know it. I love the landscapes and the journey to reach those wide-open spaces that I would never otherwise be able to see. I feel good when I’m natural environments.
I’ve had to learn a lot of things about navigation, but what impresses me the most is it seems impossible to cover all these kilometers, off-road, each day! I feel I have a big responsibility, just for us to get to the bivouac every day. Making it to the finish, that’s already a success. And then we want to have fun, deal with anything that may come our way, and enjoy the landscapes, which is the main reason for us to come.
We train physically, like we always do, since we’re used to doing other sports. I’ve studied the rules. And we just want to be ready overall, trying to get a sense of what this experience has been like for other people who did the Dakar Classic.”
