Jacopo Cerutti and the Aprilia Tuareg Racing Team delivered a historic performance in their first-ever participation in the Romanian Rally Marathon, held in Romania, taking not only the FIM 5 class victory but also the overall victory. This was an extraordinary result for the team, which completed its dominance with a one-two finish in the overall class thanks to Marco Menichini’s second place, and a class hat-trick with Cerutti, Menichini, and Montanari, taking first, second, and third, respectively.
The challenge in Romania spanned seven days, with over 1800km of special stages and a total of 2000km: challenging distances tackled across extremely varied and challenging terrain. The competition took place in a wide variety of conditions: mud, dust, high temperatures, and rain.
At the end of the seven stages, one of which was canceled due to bad weather, Jacopo Cerutti dominated the competition, taking overall and class victories in every stage except the fourth, won by his teammate Marco Menichini. Cerutti once again demonstrated an extraordinary feeling with the Tuareg Rally on all types of terrain, confirming his overall and FIM Class 5 title in his first appearance in this rally raid.
Marco Menichini also put in a top-notch performance, finishing second overall and in his class. Menichini displayed surprising speed and solidity, also taking the overall and class victory in the fourth stage.
Completing the hat-trick in the FIM 5 class was Francesco Montanari, who finished third in his class and fourth overall. He, too, consistently ranked among the top riders, confirmed his potential and excellent feeling with the Aprilia Tuareg Rally.
The goal of participating in the Ro Rally Marathon was to gather as much information as possible ahead of the 2026 edition of the Africa Eco Race, and the final outcome was extremely positive. The Tuareg Rally, developed in collaboration with the Guareschi brothers’ GCorse, once again proved itself to be versatile, reliable, and competitive on all types of terrain and in all conditions.
JACOPO CERUTTI
“It went great. We had some great stages, Marco and Cecco were also strong, but above all it was an excellent test for the tires and engines. There was no speed limit, so we were able to get the most out of the engine, carrying out very important durability tests on all the components in preparation for the Africa Eco Race 2026. The Tuareg Rally always goes very well, the feeling is excellent, and that’s the secret to these consecutive successes.”
MARCO MENICHINI
“It was a great race, very fast. I tried to maintain a good pace, without making any mistakes, and I succeeded. I also tried to manage my lead; there were some problems in the last few days, but I still managed to bring home the result. It was above all a test race, especially to evaluate the endurance of the engines, given that it was a very fast rally. A very positive week, now we look forward to the next challenges.”
FRANCESCO MONTANARI
“I’m satisfied with how the rally went. It was useful for testing ahead of the Africa Eco Race and for continuing to develop the bike, which was the main goal. Certainly, without a few setbacks, we could have done even better in the overall standings. I’m happy I was able to complete the long special stage with Jacopo; we maintained a great pace and had fun. In any case, it was a great race. We worked hard, but we’re not stopping here; we’ll continue to work hard to improve even more and arrive in the best possible shape for the most important event, the Africa Eco Race 2026.”