“Play with cars that aren't fast but brave”
Crew facts
- When passion called, Henry Favre wasted no time to make his way to the Dakar, an event he covered as a journalist in 2023, before a first participation in the Classic in 2025, alongside his even younger friend Alessandro Iacovelli.
- Enthusiast for anything that has an engine, Favre sold his motorcycles to buy a Mitsubishi Pajero from 1990. With their mechanic skills, the duo turned it from “a wreck” to a vehicle that got them through the desert.
- As they return for the 2026 Dakar Classic, Favre and Iacovelli try their hand on another challenge. This time, they’ve spent months working on a Mitsubishi L300.
- Aboard the van, victory isn’t on their horizon, but they’re in for loads of fun in a special adventure Favre will share with the world with his communication skills and humour.
- At 27 years old, Alessandro Iacovelli has all the credentials to create his own adventures in the Saudi desert, where he returns in 2026 to face his second Dakar Classic.
- The young Italian works in the heavy vehicle and earth-moving machinery mechanics sector. His background on motorcycles helps him with navigation. And he makes a young and enthusiast duo with his friend Henry Favre.
- For the Dakar Classic, Iacovelli and Favre prepared a Mitsubishi Pajero from 1990 to turn it from “a wreck” to a vehicle that got them through the desert.
- As they return for the 2026 Dakar Classic, Favre and Iacovelli try their hand on another challenge - this time, they’ve spent months working on a Mitsubishi L300.
Ambition
H.F.: “We like to go back in time, so to speak, because otherwise we would just do the normal Dakar. With the Classic, we get to experience what for me was the real Dakar: low speeds, little comfort and vehicles that break down, creating difficulties and allowing you to experience the real desert.
We managed to find a Mitsubishi L300 in Spain and we completely refurbished it, turning it into a racing van that doesn't run very fast, but the point is to bring back a vehicle that was in the Dakar 40 years ago.
We welcome problems! We think the Dakar is something that should give you bad and good emotions, and then when you get to the bivouac in the evening, you say: 'Bloody hell, I changed the oil seal in the desert in the middle of nowhere. A job that might take me three days in the workshop. It's a challenge with yourself, but also with the world of motor racing and competition.
We don't really care about the rankings. We're there to have fun, to entertain those who follow us from home and, above all, to play with cars that aren't fast but brave. It's a game and a huge challenge at the same time.
We're not naive people. We just like to live those two weeks of racing in a stupid way, without assistance, telling the story of our desperation in the competition, and trying to share the solution to get home from the desert.”
A.I.: “Fun is a given, but it's everything behind it that drives us crazy and motivates us to keep going day and night in the race, and in the months in the garage. We spent a year working on the race van: as you can imagine, everything has to be adapted, and I'm super proud to know every single screw in the vehicle. And I can now tell my family at Officina Emmepi that it is my fault that a hundred fuses and six coils of electrical wire are missing!
Together with Henry, we managed to find everything we need to have a racing vehicle, but we assure our opponents that we will not be aiming for the overall victory this time either.
We don't really have two distinct roles: I like to drive and Henry likes to navigate, but we often switch places and are not at all jealous of the other's seat. The important thing is to understand when to switch roles before fatigue and stress set in.
On board, we also have mechanics, psychologists, nutritionists, welders, tyre repairers, cooks and electricians: they are always called Henry and Alessandro, depending on the moment, the stage or the noise the car makes.
If there were three of us, like in a lorry, I'm sure the tension would be greater: we argue little and we get on well sharing the various tasks.”
