Fantic is one of the top motorcycle manufacturers in enduro, and their 2024 Dakar Rally programme will reflect that as Jane Daniels, Jeremy Miroir, and Tommaso Montanari will represent the Fantic Rally Team. Daniels and Miroir are making their débuts while Montanari enters his second Dakar.
The trio, all enduro champions, entered the Rallye du Maroc in October, the final round of the 2023 World Rally-Raid Championship. Montanari was the highest-finishing non-points rider in the Rally2 category as he placed fifth overall with Miroir three positions back. Daniels was thirtieth in her first W2RC race. While Montanari already had Dakar experience, Miroir and Daniels’ successes locked in their acceptances for the 2024 edition.
Montanari’s maiden Dakar took place in January when he raced a Husqvarna for Solarys Racing. However, after finishing an impressive ninth in Rally2 in the opening stage, he crashed the following day and hurt his femur. After undergoing surgery and recovery, he departed Solarys in July and signed with Fantic.
Prior to trying out rally raid, he won three enduro titles in his home country of Italy along with the 2018 European Enduro Championship. His father Mario Montanari is a Dakar veteran.
“For me, it’s a year of revenge,” said Montanari. “I’ve been working hard to get back in shape, coming from a severe injury sustained at the last Dakar, and having the support, trust, and esteem from Fantic is fundamental for me. I’m thrilled to represent myself and my country in the colors of Fantic, an Italian motorbike manufacturer, and I’m sure that the results will repay the effort put in by all of us.”
Daniels entered Morocco just days after claiming her fourth FIM Women’s World Enduro Championship and third in a row. The top female enduro rider today, she helped lead Britain to their first Women’s World Trophy at the FIM International Six Days of Enduro in 2022. She began dabbling in rally in April when she raced the Swank Rally in Tunisia, finishing fifth overall.
“I am really excited about this new adventure and can’t wait to get stuck into the biggest rally raid in the world,” stated Daniels. “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.”
Miroir is also an ISDE winner, claiming the Junior World Trophy in 2017 before entering rally raid in 2021. He finished seventh among all bikes at that year’s Baja Aragón, followed by winning the 2022 Italian MotoRally Championship. The Frenchman also won the Rally3 class in his W2RC début at the 2022 season-ending Andalucía Rally.
“To participate at Dakar 2024 is realizing a childhood dream, and I am really happy to do it with the Fantic Racing team,” he offered. “I’ve already ridden the XEF 450 Rally, and I’m looking forward to riding this bike at the Rally Dakar.”
Fantic fielded two factory bikes at the 2023 race for Franco Picco and Alex Salvini, the former finishing forty-ninth in Rally2 while Salvini—also an enduro star—retired. Tiziano Internó raced with Fantic’s backing but had no actual in-race support as he competed in the Malle Moto class for solo riders, though he also bowed out.
The 2024 Dakar Rally begins on 5 January.
“The third Dakar is a great achievement for Fantic,” Fantic racing head Claudio Giovanardi commented. “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.”