These images come to us from Copiapo, Chile where Francisco Lopez is performing some final testing ahead of the 2012 Dakar aboard his Aprilia RXV450 Tuareg. Lopez finished the grueling 5,000km rally in 4th last year and 3rd in 2010.
Photos: Alfredo Escobar
Aprilia rider Francisco Lopez finished fourth overall in the 2011 Dakar, but he almost didn’t finish at all. Not only did he just about run out of fuel on a connection between special stages, but, when he stopped to help himself to the gas from a parked bike in a village, Argentinean police quickly intervened. How sneaky does he look in this video? :continue:
Finally, high-res photos of Francisco Lopez riding his Aprilia RXV 4.5 in the 2011 Dakar. Lopez won his first stage of 2011 today, going head-to-head against Marc Coma in the process. The result leaves him and Aprilia third overall, the same position they totaled for last year’s race, where Lopez won two of the 14 stages. :continue:
Photos: van Oers J./Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Photofiles
After winning stage 5, Francisco Lopez (pictured above) and his Aprilia RXV 4.5 Dakar are in 2nd place overall in the Dakar Rally, an impressive standing for a non-factory team. KTM’s Cyril Despres is in the lead. Click through for video highlights. > :continue:
