“Like a trip to the moon”
CREW FACTS
C.B.
- At the helm of transport and warehousing company ItalTrans, Claudio Bellina manages a fleet of trucks in Italy… and heads to Saudi Arabia, where he’s moved with the Dakar, after previous participations in Africa and South America, including a podium finish with the iconic Giacomo Vismara.
- After years of adventures with staples like Giulio Minelli and Bruno Gotti, Bellina faces a 17th participation alongside Marco Arnoletti, who joined him for the first time in 2024, and Danilo Petrucci, who already made history in the Dakar and in circuit races around the world.
- Bellina achieved his best Dakar result as a driver in 2024 (7th), confirming his rise in the rankings since the world’s most iconic rally-raid settled in Saudi Arabia. He hopes to build on his performances to keep on climbing the ladder.
M.A.
- A powertrain chief engineer and a seasoned navigator, Marco Arnoletti has successfully put his set of skills and his dedication to the proof in the challenging environment of the Dakar.
- The Italian enthusiast first participated in 2013, as part of the futuristic adventures of the Cinoto family aboard fast and furious prototypes.
- The Dakar 2024 was his first participation aboard a truck alongside Claudio Bellina… And it opened new horizons for Arnoletti, who immediately took on an essential role for the Italian veteran and MM Technology.
D.P.
- Danilo Petrucci has raced his bikes all around the world, at the highest level, so much so that he thought the Dakar 2022 would be his last two-wheel adventure… It marked a new beginning for the Italian rider, who made history with a stage win in the Arabian desert, and went on to tackle the Superbike World Championships (5th overall in 2024).
- Petrucci is a history maker on two wheels, as the only rider ever with victories at the Dakar, in MotoGP and in the Superbike World Championships (as well as the MotoAmerica Superbike Championships). <
2025 AMBITIONS
C.B.: “I started when I was already 40 years old but I get more and more passionate about it every year. In recent editions, our increasingly competitive means have allowed me to achieve better and better result, and the desire to continue and do better keeps on growing. But the main objective is always to have fun.
Compared to the first year, there is always more competition and it’s necessary to develop every component of the vehicle, like the tyres - which are very important in this type of competition - from Prometeon.
The environment of the Dakar puts a strain on relationships between people, because of the kind of forced coexistence and the conditions we have to face, with huge variables. But I have great companions and I trust that the crew for the 2025 edition will be at the level of the previous ones.”
M.A.: “Last year was only my second experience in truck, after the Africa Race 2018, and it was amazing. I had never raced with a truck with such performances. Clearly, this is the best in the world, the results show MM Technology is at the top. I feel pride, not only with the result, but also being part of the ItalTrans family with Claudio Bellina. With them, I found everything a professional driver is looking for: a super organisation, a great truck, food people, a great driver… I really feel proud and now we want to confirm in 2025.
I’m speechless about Claudio! I love him as a driver, as a manager, as a person… He’s an inspiration. We found a really good chemistry.
First of all, in the truck, I’m the co-driver, taking care of the navigation, but I also help around the organisation. I always speak with Martin Macik before and after the stages, discussing the set-up of the trucks, translating Claudio’s requirements…
I train every day to prepare for the Dakar. At 6 o’clock, I do crossfit to be physically ready. I have two screens at my job, one for work and the other one on dakar.com. With my girlfriend, we’re pretending December 27th is the last day of the year, so we can celebrate it together, but on the real New Year’s Eve, I’m doing the scrutineering!”
D.P.: “Doing the Dakar was the best decision of my life. It was the most powerful experience of my life, it was like a trip to the moon, something I never thought I could do, and it made me grow a lot personally.
Since I did the Dakar, every person who arrests me for a photo asks me: ‘Are you going back to the Dakar?’ I’ve also been doing ten years in MotoGP, this year I won three ra