Enduro range

Destination Dakar: Mirco and Tommaso Bettini’s epic journey at the Africa Eco Race riding Beta 480 RR.

25.02.2026

Father and son, together on the trail of a legend. Over 6,000 km of desert, hardships, and triumphs all the way to the shores of Lac Rose, proving human tenacity and the incredible reliability of the motorcycles made in Rignano sull’Arno.

There are adventures that go beyond mere sporting competition. Challenges where the stopwatch takes a back seat to resilience, sharing, and pure passion for motorsports.

This is the case of the epic endeavor completed by Mirco and Tommaso Bettini, father and son, aged 62 and 21 respectively – who have just successfully finished the 2026 Africa Eco Race riding two Beta 480 RRs. Setting off last January 25th from Tangier, Morocco, the two Rally Team Azzurrorosa riders crossed the Sahara Desert, braving the extreme temperatures of Mauritania and Senegal, until they reached the legendary finish line in Dakar.

The great protagonists: Beta 480 RR.

To tackle a tough and selective rally raid like the Africa Eco Race, where the imperative is to “make it to the end”, the choice of vehicle is crucial.

The two single-cylinder 4-stroke Beta 480 RRs, supplied by the Ugolini dealership in Rimini with the direct support of Beta, did not undergo radical modifications. The team’s goal was clear: to preserve the design excellence and reliability of the standard bike, equipping it only with the accessories strictly necessary for navigation and safety in the African deserts (with the support of technical partners such as Tiziano Monti, GpMucci, ProtoType Team, Bartubeless, WLPcom, and Xracing). A choice that paid off in the field, demonstrating how Italian manufacturing quality is ready to fearlessly face the most extreme competitions on the planet.

The race: beyond their limits.

Of the 105 motorcycles lined up at the start, only 70 managed to see the shores of Lac Rose. A figure that gives a clear idea of the harshness of this edition.

For Tommaso, it was his absolute debut in an African rally, but alongside his father Mirco, he was able to handle every situation.

From the fifth stage onwards, following two violent crashes on the stony ground, Mirco suffered three fractured ribs. But retiring was never an option. Supporting each other, father and son showed up at the start of every single special stage. The seventh stage was epic: starting late, the Bettinis rode for over two hours in the total darkness of the desert, managing to cross the finish line at 9:30 PM, while as many as 25 riders had to be rescued during the night by the “camion balais”.

A finish line worth double: results and solidarity.

Their fatigue was amply rewarded. Mirco and Tommaso finished the overall general classification in 51st and 50th place respectively, narrowly missing the podium in the fiercely contested “Over 450” category, where they secured 5th and 4th positions. The icing on the cake? In the final special stage on the magical sands of Lac Rose, father and son dominated, placing 1st and 2nd in their category!

But arriving in Dakar also meant completing a deeper mission. The project was in fact linked to a fundraiser to support local schools, combining sporting commitment with a gesture of concrete solidarity for the local populations, met right at the end of the journey.

There are victories made of trophies raised on the podium, and victories made of dust, fatigue, and a long embrace between father and son on the shores of Lac Rose. Mirco and Tommaso’s endeavor is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful adventures we could hope to tell.

Thanks to the Bettinis and the entire Team Azzurrorosa for bringing the heart (and engines) of Beta into this incredible challenge. Welcome back home, guys!