I have seen the eighties pass. I was a child and at home, among the many stimuli that my parents tried to give me, there were also those of the engines. The two wheels above all. But I was certainly still too young to grasp the fashion of the period, the enduro adventure, even if I was struck like everyone by the images of the Paris-Dakar.
In those same years there were those, already in adulthood, that passion tried to live it fully and to transmit it. For a series of coincidences, as they say in these cases, in Rome a group of these enthusiasts find themselves orbiting and decide to found the Rally Raid Promotion. Among these, some names that will remain known to those who have followed the motorcycle world for some time, like the one of Carlo Fiorani e di Ugo Passerini.
Rally Raid Promotion, the adventure yesterday and today. What has changed?
Rally Raid Promotion was the first in Italy to organize off road adventure trips both in central Italy and in Africa. In a short time it became such a point of reference that Honda itself relied on RRP for the presentations of some of its adventure models, on all the Africa Twin. Non solo: they were also entrusted with the task of organizing the motorcycle version of the Camel Trophy which was held in what was then called Zaire, today Democratic Republic of Congo.
And from here we start with our story this evening, from Congo, recently returned to our present time with the tragic killing of our ambassador Luca Attanasio and the carabiniere Vittorio Iacovacci. This dramatic event leads us to remember the Congolese situation and to compare it with that of thirty years ago when the RRP organized its raids here.
How many things have changed ever since these young adventure lovers left for the Black Continent on their Honda XRs, Dominator o Africa Twin? The adventure motorcycling so much in vogue today is the same as it was at that time? How we motorcyclists have changed and the territories to cross?
We talk about it in this live interview with the protagonists of that period, some of the men who made the Rally Raid Promotion: as well as Carlo Fiorani and Ugo Passerini, Mario Lombardi intervened – who was the telecommunications man – and Andrea Vitali who instead took care of the medical part.
Good vision!
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