“A rematch”
Crew facts
- Gian Paolo Cavagna loves vintage cars, so much that he owns a little dozen, and off-road races, joining events such as the 1000 Miglia, the Monte Carlo Historique and, on top of everything, three participations in the Dakar Classic.
- As he returns to Saudi Arabia for a fourth assault, Cavagna has made significant adjustments to the Nissan Patrol he’s been driving in all his attempts. His engine packed 130 horsepowers to begin with. It’s now up to 250! And he hopes to escape the technical problems that hampered his 2025 Dakar.
- The other major change for Cavagna is his new navigator. After three participations with Gianni Pelizzola, he tackles the challenges of the 2026 edition alongside Francesco Proietti, who joined the Tecnosport environment a year ago.
- With his grit and dedication, an improved car, and a new partner, Cavagna wants to survive the desert, first of all, and hopes to make it inside the Top 10 of the Dakar Classic, an ever increasing challenge.
- As a surveyor, Francesco Proietti has a great eye which serves him a lot as an off-road enthusiast, with participations in the Italian Rally Championships and some international events, with the Dakar Classic as a main highlight.
- Two years after his first Dakar Classic adventure, Proietti was called up by Tecnosport to return to the Saudi desert in 2025 alongside the iconic Maurizio Traglio. It has been the beginning of an intense partnership that now sees the navigator join Gian Paolo Cavagna for the Dakar Classic 2026.
- The duo met in Saudi Arabia in 2025. They immediately clicked and they’ve been spending most of the year discussing their common assault on the desert.
Ambition
G.P.C.: “After my first two experiences in the Dakar Classic in 2022 and 2023, I skipped the 2024 edition because we were preparing the car with a more powerful engine. So, we returned in 2025 but we had a lot of electronic problems. So, this year would be a rematch, in the hope that the technical and electronic problems have been solved and we can improve our performance and our enjoyment. The truth is we’re as interested in enjoying ourselves as much as in the performance. It’s about getting to the end, finishing, improving and having fun. The performance comes automatically if the car works and has no problems.
So, the car stays the same, but we always work on improving it and that’s also because the Dakar Classic is becoming more and more challenging. We actually took the opportunity to increase the engine power a little bit again.
Now I’m doing it with Francesco, who I met through Tecnosport. They recommended him due to his experience with navigation. He’s a semi-professional, doing a lot more races. He’s young, but he’s already very good - that guy has got talent!
Finishing remains the most important thing for a Dakarian. And then we’ll aim to be inside the Top 10.”
F.P.: “After I got to know Tecnosport last year, I did several races with them and basically, I joined a family. They took a liking to me and we got along right way. I also met Gian Paolo during the Dakar 2025. He called me in the spring to ask me to come with him. Last year was a bit of unexpected call, I met the pilot on 31 December at the airport and I was stressed, but this time I knew right away that I would return to the Dakar!
We talk very often with Gian Paolo. He’s a very knowledgeable and friendly person, so I think it’ll be a lot of fun. Of course, we want good results, a good car, good routes, no problems… And it’s important to have fun.”
