Fantic returns to Dakar. After a ‘shakedown’ edition in 2022 with the prototype version of the XEF 450 Rally and one of further development in 2023 with the definitive model, the Veneto-based manufacturer will take up the challenge of the rally raid legend for the 2024 edition as well.
Words and Images by Fantic
On January 5th, Fantic will start from the millenary city of Al-‘Ula to tackle the dunes of Saudi Arabia and across the country, passing through the immensity of the Empty Quarter.
At Dakar 2024, Fantic will have a team of 3 riders: Tommaso Montanari, Jeremy Miroir, and Jane Daniels will ride the XEF 450 Rally.
Jane Daniels has been a Fantic rider for three years. She has been involved with motorbikes practically all her life, also influenced by her father, a road racer, who steered her towards off-road racing because it was considered safer. She got into the saddle at 12 after seeing her brother Gary competing in an enduro race. She debuted in the World Enduro Championship in 2012 at 18, finishing the season in the top 10 in eighth place, already demonstrating skills as an excellent enduro rider.
She is a four-time World Enduro Champion and has dominated the last two editions on her Fantic XEF 250, winning every race day.
Last year in France, she made a decisive contribution to the British women’s team that won the first ISDE in history.
Jane lives motorcycling with extreme passion and has reached the top of this beautiful sport thanks to a lot of commitment, a great spirit of adventure, and a lot of humility and willingness to learn.
This year, she wanted to discover navigation techniques, accumulating experience by participating in April in the Abruzzo stage of the Motorally, obviously winning it. At the end of the same month, he debuted in a rally raid at the Swank Rally in Tunisia, already demonstrating an excellent familiarity with instrumentation combined with her usual attitude. In October, a few days after winning the world title, she returned to riding the XEF 450 Rally at the Morocco Rally, finishing forty-fourth out of 133 riders and second among women.
“I am really excited about this new adventure and can’t wait to get stuck into the biggest rally raid in the World! I feel I have made good preparations after racing every weekend this year, so if I can spend a little bit of time this winter road book training, then I will be able to put my best foot forward to conquer this race! Thanks to Fantic for this opportunity; it’s a dream come true!”
“The third Dakar is a great achievement for Fantic” – says Claudio Giovanardi, Head of the Racing Department of Fantic Motor S.p.A. – “It’s a competition that reflects our mentality because it requires effort, concentration, courage, and determination, with a pinch of madness. We can’t wait to start this new adventure!”
The Dakar 2024
The 2024 edition of the Dakar rally will be run for the fifth consecutive time in Saudi Arabia. The participants will start on January 5th, 2024, from Al-‘Ula, crossing the country in the direction of the Empty Quarter and returning to the shores of the Red Sea, arriving on January 19th at the final podium in Yanbu.
After a climatically demanding edition, which surprised the riders by exalting their endurance capabilities, the tone of Dakar 2024 will be equally respectful of their expectations in terms of challenge. The route, which will cover an equivalent distance of 5,000 kilometers, continues the exploration of the Saudi Arabian territory, with 60% of all-new sections. A total of nine bivouacs will be set up on a large swathe running west-east, crisscrossing the route in both directions to a final finish in Yanbu, on the shores of the Red Sea.
The 2024 route promises the competitors massive stretches of dunes where navigation difficulties will accompany the technical challenges of crossing them.
A new stage format has also been created: in the ’48-hour stage’ there will be a time limit for stopping (4 pm) before setting off again the next day (7 am) to complete the route. A new stage format has also been created: in the ’48-hour stage’ there will be a time limit for stopping (4 pm) before setting off again the next day (7 am) to complete the route.
