N°741 Classic R TEAM

DAMIANO LIPANI

(ita)

Hobbies

Sports, outdoors, desert

Sponsors

SIETEL / World Cargo / Lipani Lawyers

First participation

Interview

“The desert is home”

The seas can take you anywhere… all the way to the desert. Stefano Crementieri and Damiano Lipani have been friends for decades, ever since they attended Venezia’s Francesco Morosini Naval Military School as teenagers. Damiano went on to become a lawyer with a consuming passion for the great outdoors. As for Stefano, he’s an admiral, piloting aircrafts for the Italian Navy… From Oman, where he was stationed, he explored the desert and the two men discovered the Empty Quarter, one of their many remote experiences, ranging from yacht races like the Middle Sea Race to ultracycling events such as the Titan Desert. “We’ve been part of thousands of adventures together, over the seas and into the desert”, they rejoice. Now it’s time their association to the test of the Dakar, aboard a vintage Mitsubishi Pajero prepared by the essential R Team.


D.L.: “I remember our first day in the Titan, after ten kilometres, we were screaming because of the joy we felt. We were in the desert to sweat over dunes and we were happy. The second time we did it, when we reached the tents to sleep, Damiano said: ‘Finally, we’re back home’. And that’s how it is, we feel home in the desert.
The Dakar is part of our generation. We saw it rise when we were in our 20s but we never imagined we could do it. At the beginning of 2023, we thought: ‘Why don’t we try to do something we never thought would be possible?’ And from there, we decided to do the Dakar.
We are both pilots and navigators. We will take turns but naturally Stefano is great at navigating, being an helicopter pilot, it’s part of his world. As a lawyer, let’s say I don’t use this type of skills as much! But we know this technology well from our desert adventures by bikes.”


S.C.: “The desert is home because it’s pristine, it’s silent, the sky is pure and you can see stars you’d never see in other places. It’s meditation, it’s inspiration, it’s immersing yourself in the nature… It’s a unique experience.
In the end, the desert is like an ocean, but made of sand. Damiano will do great with his nautical experience. We’ve been preparing for quite some time and now we’re enthusiastic to get in there.
It’s at the same time a project and a dream. The Dakar is a name known all around the world. Making this dream come true is a great satisfaction in itself. Then we’ll see the feeling there. We look at our bike races like a damnation: we can’t escape them. The Dakar might do the same to us…”

Vehicle

R TEAM

MITSUBISHI PAJERO EVOLUTION
R TEAM

  • MITSUBISHI
  • PAJERO EVOLUTION
  • R Team
  • R Team
  • Classic Auto (intermediate average) > 97

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