The 98th episode of #atuttogas, the Sunday podcast of moto.it, leaves the asphalt of the racetracks and, for once, dedicates itself to the sand of the desert to talk about the Dakar. Gigi, one of the most famous motorcycle photographers in the world, takes us into an environment unknown to many and always fascinating
January 20, 2023
You know well what happened in the last edition of the Dakar from the punctual and precious video and text reports published daily by Moto.it.
In the 98th episode of #atuttogasavailable from Sunday 22 January, let’s talk about everything about the race, how it has changed over time, the charm of little-known places, the difficulties of following this competition with a press. And much more. We do it with Gigi Soldanoone who has made 27 of Dakar!
“The Dakar is now big business, but with a new formula have brought together many fans who could no longer participate in the ‘real’ race, involving them in another type of competition, giving space to ‘historic’ vehicles”. For example, there was Jacky Ichx who went to look at his old Porsche… Mega structures are now being set up, which is also why the race is ‘circular’, it plans to return to fixed points. In Arabia there are highways for getting around, you are not in the middle of nowhere like in Africa. For the start they created a country on the sea, the race was a sort of Coast to Coast. It rained a lot, it sank into the sand: in some stages, they had to recover some competitors with helicopters”.
A photographer who follows the race by car, as Soldano does, must anticipate the competitors.
“We leave at 4 in the morning: the machine is always controlled by a satellite system. An hour before the start of the first competitor, they send you a series of GPS points where to go and take photos. In fact, you can’t go anywhere else.”
Do you still get lost in the Dakar? Gigi rules it out. But he assures, that the places are still fascinating, the emotions always exclusive.
“For some aspects it is monotonous, but offers you breathtaking scenery. And the landscape is amazing. The sandy part gave us unimaginable situations”.
Soldano, in the podcast, explains well how the pilots have changed.
“But it is still a race linked to passion.”
The 98th episode of #atuttogas will be online on Moto.it and on the main podcast platforms starting from Sunday 22 January.
See you next week for a new episode of #atuttogas
