Two major rallies just took place at the beginning of April: the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in UAE United Arab Emirates, and the Afriquia Merzouga Rally, in Morocco.
The first race is part of the 2019 FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship and saw the participation of GIVI sponsored HRC Rally Honda Team. The red squad was once again among the main contenders but, in spite of some outstanding performances by young Chilean rider José Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Cornejo, the final victory ended up in the hands of the arch-rival KTM Team. Cornejo was definitely the big revelation of the race, but not a total surprise as he posted some very good performances at the recent Dakar Rally, too. In the UAE "Nacho" was able to win 2 of the 5 stages of the race and finish third in the general standings, having lead the pack and opened the way in multiple occasions. His teammate Kevin Benavides, despite suffering the consequences of a recent injury, was able to manage the pain and close in a good 4th position, a very important result when looking at the broader, Championship picture.
At the same time, Alessandro Botturi was racing in Morocco, trying to post another brilliant result after his win at the Africa Eco Race in January. The GIVI supported Italian rider, aboard his Factory Yamaha, was unfortunately limited in his ambitions by a very bad first stage, where he admitted he made a lot of navigation mistakes. Those mistakes proven to be too much to overcome in the remaining stages of the race, even if Botturi proved to be among the fastest riders in the competition. He closed 5th overall. The race, part of the "Dakar Series", was won by French rider Adrien Van Beveren, teammate of Botturi, on the other Factory Yamaha.