2024 Africa Eco Race: 122 on entry list

With the Dakar Rally set for its fifth run in Saudi Arabia, the Africa Eco Race continues to fill the void left on the legendary route from Europe to the Senegalese capital of Dakar. 122 entrants comprise the field for the 2024 AER, spread across five divisions and sixteen classes.

Philippe Gosselin and Štefan Svitko are at the 2024 Dakar Rally and will not defend their victories in the Car and Bike classes, respectively, though Tomáš Tomeček is back and seeking his third Truck win. Various Dakar regulars have also opted for the AER such as Feryn Dakar Sport, who was barred from running the 2023 Dakar after failing FIA pre-race scrutineering, and 2023 rookie Rubén Saldaña Goñi, who opted to continue working as a ghost rider for Nicola Dutto. Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, the former chairman of Nestlé and Formula One Group, and his brother Andres are racing Mitsubishis after previously entering the 2023 Dakar Classic.

Dutto, the first paraplegic rider to complete the AER in 2020, returns to the race two months after conquering the legendary Baja 1000. His team for both Baja and the AER include Goñi and Julián Villarrubia Garcia.

Amine Echiguer, the 2022 World Rally-Raid Champion in the Rally3 category, is set for his first Africa Eco Race. Marco Aurelio Fontana is also a newcomer to the race, coming over from the cross-country cycling world

Yoshimasa Sugawara enters his first AER since 2020. He holds the record for the most Dakar Rallies started with thirty-six form 1983 to 2019, mainly in a truck before switching to an SSV for his AER début. For 2024, he will race a Suzuki JB64 Jimny.

The AER, being an independent event, often features marques that one won’t see at the Dakar or other World Rally-Raid Championship events. For example, Yamaha—who shuttered their W2RC programme in 2022—is present with the Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team and the Ténéré World Raid Team, the latter for non-competitive riders hoping to just get the rally experience via the Ténéré Spirit Experience created last year. Yamaha’s Pol Tarrés and Alessandro Botturi finished 1–2 among bikes with an engine displacement over 700cc at the 2022 AER.

“We are ready for the Africa Eco Race,” said team manager Marc Bourgeois. “It is the longest and toughest race on our calendar. The terrain is some of the most challenging in the world, and this rally is the ultimate test of bike and rider. It is where the Ténéré was born, and it is something extraordinary to return there with the team and back to the bike’s spiritual roots.”

Harley-Davidson will field the Pan America 1250 for Joan Pedrero; although Pedrero and the team successfully completed the FIM Bajas World Cup’s Baja Aragón in 2022, the bike is too large and powerful to meet the sanctioning body’s standards. Aprilia makes their return to international rally raid with the Aprilia GCorse factory team created last January.

On four wheels, Apache Automotive will field two of their hybrid APH-01 cars for FIM Motocross World Championship veteran Gautier Paulin and World Rally Championship driver Pierre-Louis Loubet. Both are new to rally raid, as is their team to an extent as Apache enters their second ever race.

Besides the competitive categories, the race also offers Raid divisions for those in non-compliant vehicles or not looking to contend for the win.

The Africa Eco Race began in Monaco on 30 December 2024 and will conclude in Dakar on 14 January.

Auto/Truck

Number	Driver	Co-Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Category
200	Imre Varga	Toma József	Varga Racing Team	Toyota	T1
204	Bernard Andriuex	Jean-Pierre Armandet	TTP	Nissan	Open
205	Stefano Rossi	Jacopo Casini	Rossi 4×4 ASD	Nissan	Experimental
206	Willem Alexander Telle	Servaas Van Herk	WUTA Rallysport	Toyota	Open
207	Teun Stam	René Bargeman	Schijf Rally	Toyota	T1
208	Yoshimasa Sugawara	Naoko Roquet	Equipe Sugawara	Suzuki	Open
209	Eric Coquide	Gregoire Coquide	Renault Trucks Rallye Raid	Nissan	Open
210	Pascal Feryn	Kurt Keysers	Feryn Dakar Sport	Toyota	T1
220	Koen Wauters	Kris Van der Steen	Feryn Dakar Sport	Toyota	SSV
250	Eric Schiano	Camile Pourchier	Harmat Team Racing	Polaris	T3
252	Rui Oliveira	Bernardo Oliveira	Old Friends Rally Team	Can-Am	T4
253	Heathcliff Zingraf	Gregory Revest	Casteu Trophy	Can-Am	SSV
254	Frederic Henricy	Eric Bersey	AT4R	Polaris	SSV
255	Philippe Champigne	Bruno Robin	Team Adventure 79	Can-Am	T4
256	Carlos Vento	Carlos Ruiz Moreno	Old Friends Rally Team	Can-Am	T3
257	Jorge Brandao	Ricardo Sousa	Old Friends Rally Team	Can-Am	T4
259	Souad Mouktadiri	Frederic Villers d’Arbouet	Souad	Can-Am	T3
260	Gautier Paulin	Rémi Boulanger	Apache Automotive	Apache	T3
261	Pierre-Louis Loubet	François Borsotto	Apache Automotive	Apache	T3
400	Tomáš Tomeček		Promet Czechoslovak Group Team	Tatra	T5
401	Aad Van Velsen	Michel Van Velsen, Marco Siemons	Van Velsen Rally Sport	Scania	T5
403	Cédric Feryn	Bjorn Burgelman, Tom De Leeuw	Feryn Dakar Sport	GINAF	T5
409	Franck Coquide	Jean-François Delaval, Daniel Penkalla	Renault Trucks Rallye Raid	Renault	T5
433	Antonio Cabini	Carlo Cabini, Raffaella Cabini	Orobica Raid	Mercedes-Benz	T5
435	Giulio Verzeletti	Giuseppa Fortuna	Orobica Raid	Mercedes-Benz	T5

Classic

Number	Driver	Co-Driver	Team	Manufacturer
280	Eric Claeys	Tom Claeys	Claeyson	Toyota
281	Jean-Michel Boyer	Martin Theriez	McQueen	Porsche
282	Markus Bodzenta	Ewald Holler	Hekla Competition	Volvo
283	Peter Brabeck-Letmathe	Jean-Michel Gayte	Casteu Trophy	Mitsubishi
284	Andres Brabeck-Letmathe	Laurent Magat	Casteu Trophy	Mitsubishi
285	Rene Declercq	John Demeester	Claeyson	Can-Am

Raid Auto/Truck

Number	Driver	Co-Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Category
351	Amaury le Roux	Caroline le Roux	MPS Outillage	Ford	Auto
352	Bertrand Lessard	Jacques Pele	Lessard/Pele	Toyota	Auto
353	Anne Doux	Diane Doux	Doux n’ Doux	Toyota	Auto
354	Cristina Boffetta	Andrea Bonardi	Bisiach	Land Rover	Auto
355	Szalay Balázs	Daniel Mezei, ADAm Vagra	Budapest Dakar Raid Team	Mitsubishi	Auto
356	László Bunkoczi	Soma Bunkoczi, Ákos Szentkuti	Budapest Dakar Raid Team	Isuzu	Auto
360	Mauel Egginger	Tobias Böhmig	Porsche Zentrum Inntal	Porsche	Auto
361	Werner Ehrentraut	Svetlana Morel	EO163	Porsche	Auto
362	Andreas Sculz	Detlef Ruf	Porsche Zentrum Inntal	Porsche	Auto
363	Fatmir Langmeier	Dominic Langmeier	Fatmir Langmeier	Porsche	Auto
364	Christian Hoellwarth	Vincent Hoellwarth	Christian Hoellwarth	Porsche	Auto
365	Reinhold Riemensperger	Dietmar Henke	EO163	Porsche	Auto
366	David van Doren	Alexander Peeters	Feryn Dakar Team	Toyota	Auto
370	Bruno Bisiach	Paolo Bisiach	Bisiach	IVECO	Truck

Moto

Number	Rider	Team	Bike	Class
103	Alessandro Botturi	Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team	Yamaha	700cc
105	Joan Pedrero	Harley-Davidson	Harley-Davidson	1000cc
107	Stefano Chiussi	Offroad Crew	Husqvarna	Over 450cc
111	Jacopo Cerutti	Aprilia Racing GCorse	Aprilia	700cc
113	Pol Tarrés	Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team	Yamaha	700cc
114	Alessandro Ruoso	Twinsbike Racing Team	Yamaha	700cc
115	Angelo Tazzari	Twinsbike Racing Team	Yamaha	700cc
119	Pietro Peila Ugo Domenico	Offroad Crew	KTM	Under 450cc
120	Nicolas Bottu	United We Trace	KTM	Under 450cc
122	Francesco Montanari	Aprilia Racing GCorse	Aprilia	700cc
123	Robert Van Olst	Wood BV	Husqvarna	Under 450cc
124	Nicolas Charlier	Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team	Yamaha	700cc
125	Guillaume Borne	Casteu Trophy	Husqvarna	Under 450cc
127	Giovanni Stigliano	JBRally	Husqvarna	Over 450cc
128	Nicola Quinto	Jacque de Molay	Husqvarna	Under 450cc
131	Alexandre Vaudan	Casteu Trophy	KTM	Under 450cc
133	Andrea Gava	NSM Racing Team	Beta	Over 450cc
134	Thierry Costard	LDZ56	KTM	Under 450cc
135	Bruno Arcuri	Orobica Raid	Honda	Under 450cc
136	Attilo Fert	France Road Book	KTM	Under 450cc
137	Nicola Dutto	Offroad Crew	KTM	Over 450cc
138	Julián Villarrubia Garcia	Offroad Crew	KTM	Over 450cc
139	Rubén Saldaña Goñi	Offroad Crew	KTM	Over 450cc
140	Antoine Detourbet	Antoine Detourbet	Husqvarna	Under 450cc
141	Alessandro Rigoni	Solarys Racing	Husqvarna	Under 450cc
142	Francesco Tognato	Team ICE	Husqvarna	Under 450cc
143	Kevin Durand	RS Moto	Honda	Under 450cc
144	Marco Aurelio Fontana	RS Moto	Honda	Under 450cc
145	Nuno Silva	Old Friends Rally Team	KTM	Under 450cc
146	Jan Hendrik Erbach	Solarys Racing	KTM	Under 450cc
148	Patrick Carillon	SARL Hôtel des Sources	KTM	Under 450cc
157	Vanessa Ruck	The Girl On A Bike	KTM	Under 450cc
163	Paolo Caprioni	Team Kapriony	Ducati	1000cc
165	Rafael Gomez Cuesta	Offroad Crew	KTM	Under 450cc
171	Massimiliano Guerrini	Solarys Racing	Husqvarna	Under 450cc
174	Francesco Muratori	NSM Racing Team	Beta	Under 450cc
177	Ai Tanaka	AI78	Husqvarna	Over 450cc
178	Gunter Schmutz	Malle Moto	KTM	Under 450cc
179	Pierpaolo Vivaldi	Twinsbike Racing Team	KTM	Under 450cc
181	Marco Menichini	Solarys Racing	Husqvarna	Under 450cc
185	Jochaim Hellstein	A4pluss	KTM	Under 450cc
186	Richard Skarpaas	A4pluss	KTM	Under 450cc
190	Francesco Puocci	Team Puocci	KTM	Open
193	Giovanni Gritti	RS Moto	Honda	Under 450cc
195	Timothy Bradshaw	Moto Joe	Husqvarna	Open
196	Amine Echiguer	Amine Echiguer	KTM	Over 450cc
199	Laurent Hellemans	Hellau	Yamaha	Quad

Raid Moto

Number	Rider	Team	Bike
300	David Frétigné	Raid Africa Twin Xperience	Honda
301	Gemme Martinez Frétigné	Raid Africa Twin Xperience	Honda
302	Aleandre Scelles	Raid Africa Twin Xperience	Honda
303	Fabrice Surget	Raid Africa Twin Xperience	Honda
304	Daniel Azzoug	Raid Africa Twin Xperience	Honda
305	Patrick Morisseau	Ténéré World Raid Team	Yamaha
306	Gregory Augustin	Raid Africa Twin Xperience	Honda
307	Jerome Calvar	Raid Africa Twin Xperience	Honda
308	Nicolas Queney	Raid Africa Twin Xperience	Honda
309	Michael Gaume	Gaume	Fantic
310	Frédéric Miñana	Raid Africa Twin Xperience	Honda
311	Jean-François Laur	Raid Africa Twin Xperience	Honda
312	Dominique Leoni	Raid Africa Twin Xperience	Honda
313	Xavier Garay	Raid Africa Twin Xperience	Honda
314	Fabienne Cavelius	Cavelius	KTM
315	Silvano Calderone	Raid Africa Twin Xperience	Honda
316	Jean-Louis Gros	Raid Africa Twin Xperience	Honda
318	Francis Wenger	Raid Africa Twin Xperience	Honda
319	Romain Loriot	Loriot Kilomètre engagé	KTM
320	Benoit Beaufour	Raid Africa Twin Xperience	Honda
321	Maxime Legrand	Raid Africa Twin Xperience	Honda
322	Marc Legrand	Raid Africa Twin Xperience	Honda
323	Vincent Plas	Vincent Plas	AJP
324	Nicolas Borrat	Raid Africa Twin Xperience	Honda
325	Cedric Padilla	Honda Raid Experience	Honda
326	Alain Biard	Team Concept Adventure	KTM
327	Stéphane Henry	Team OLR	Husqvarna
328	François Barrois	Honda Raid Experience	Honda
329	Michael Gros	Ténéré World Raid Team	Yamaha
330	Julie Carre	Raid Africa Twin Xperience	Honda