“I kept thinking about returning”
Crew facts
DL
- After he attended Venezia’s Francesco Morosini Naval Military School, Damiano Lipani became a lawyer with a consuming passion for the great outdoors, shared with his friend Stefano Crementieri. The duo notably explored the Empty Quarter and took on the Dakar Classic in 2024 and 2025.
- As Crementieri misses on the 2026 edition, Lipani turns to Maurizio Dominella, among the most experienced figures in the Dakar, for another adventure in the Saudi desert.
- Through his participations in the Dakar Classic, Lipani also develops initiatives such as “Napoli Dakar-a Road to employment”, in association with Napolitan associations and schools. Two students benefitted from the automotive expertise of R Team and others worked on a documentary about the whole initiative. The next project will be set in Milano.
MD
- A Dakarian since 1989, Maurizo Dominella returns to the desert for a 34th adventure. He notably achieved a 7th place alongside Dominique Housieaux as his best result and has also raced with Clay Regazzoni, André Dessoude and more recently with SSV pioneers Extreme Plus.
- After a long career in advertising, for the last 10 years he’s been busy restoring classic enduro bikes from 1970 onwards: Honda XRs, SWM, Moto Morini… often competing alongside other Dakar classic enduro enthusiasts such as Stephane Peterhansel.
- Dominella discovered the Dakar Classic in 2025 and enjoyed the atmosphere. This time, this staple of the bivouac jumps aboard Damiano Lipani’s Mitsubishi Pajero Evo to share his comprehensive experience of the rally raid.
Ambition
D.L.: “Human relationships are essential to me and I'm very happy to live this experience with Maurizio, who has done more than 30 Dakars. We did a rally in Morocco in September [RallyClassics Africa] and we got on well so, since my friend Stefano is not available, it was the best alternative. I hope to be able to soak on his experience with the desert, with navigation.
The Dakar is an event that's hard to stay away from. I have to say that I thought two times would be enough. But I kept thinking about returning. Those twenty days spent in the desert are a central part of my year. I don't turn on my computer, I don't check my email on my mobile phone. Anyone who wants to contact me does so via WhatsApp or satellite tools, and I don't miss it. During those days, I feel good. Apart from the pleasure of travelling, of course, my passion for cars and a fatal attraction to the desert and everything outside civilisation, I think that's what basically led me to do a third one.
Clearly, with the work I do and my commitment to the Dakar, it would be impossible for me to participate in the Dakar if I didn't have a team of highly professional people behind me, such as the partners in my firm on the one hand, and on the other hand I must say that Renato Rickler's RD Team is a great help. With their vast experience, they make me feel much more at ease about embarking on such an adventure, knowing that while my partners take care of the organisation of the firm, they take care of the organisation of the Dakar.”
M.D.: "We'll get the best result possible together with Damiano, who is a really nice and kind person. I met him because Renato Rickler introduced him to me, and we went to do the Rally Classics in Morocco in October. It went well, we had fun, we didn't have any problems, we got to know each other quite well, and we're tackling the Dakar Classic 2026 with the certainty that we'll have fun and the hope of achieving a good result.
Dakar is a home for me now. I mean, when I started, there was hardly a bivouac, but now it's like a small town where I have lots of friends. The first Dakar I ever did was with a truck with Clay Regazzoni. And then I did the last Dakar in Africa on a truck as well. So I would like to come full circle with a third Dakar on a truck. I've seen the ones in the Dakar Classic. There are beautiful trucks, they could still be in the race.”
