Published on: 15/01/2022 Updated on: 20/02/2025

DAKAR Classic 2022 ... an adventure of yesteryear

The Dakar Classic 2022, the regularity race dedicated to historic off-road cars of all types, ended on Friday, January 14. Mafra participated in this incredible adventure as a sponsor of the Peugeot 504 of the Camporese-Didonè couple.

Always, when one says Dakar, the thought goes to an adventure among beautiful desert dunes. Today it is the most difficult race in the world, with the major car manufacturers playing a leading role, with very large investments, even 6 zeros. The cars are real research laboratories, with which more and more innovative technologies are developed. Starting in 2021, the Dakar Classic, the competition dedicated to off-road cars homologated no later than 2000, will be held. We are in Saudi Arabia. The start and finish are the same as the official race, with a route more suitable for the registered cars but still very challenging. The giant desert dunes provide the backdrop for an exciting race, where the ranking is based on regularity. Navigation was also very important this year! Some stages, in fact, required taking all the way points plotted in the roadbook to avoid incurring heavy penalties.

Mafra sponsors Camporese-Didonè at Dakar Classic 2022

128 cars registered for the 2022 edition of the Dakar Classic. Among them is also the legendary 1984 Peugeot 504 pick-up driven by driver Roberto Camporese, in his second experience on the Dakar routes. Accompanying him as navigator is Federico Didonè, the founder of the Sahara Racing Cup.

The Italian couple, driving "the unlikely car" with a good 40 years of age, as Roberto Camporese likes to call it, tackled the nearly 9,000 kilometers of potholes and jumps with the same spirit with which they raced in the 1980s. We at Mafra stood by his side as a sponsor, even providing some useful products to face all the difficulties of this very hard race.

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Everything on board, as in the 1980s

The Peugeot 504, while remaining a two-wheel drive car, has been prepared for the pitfalls of the Dakar Classic.

The engine was replaced with the gasoline engine always mounted on the Peugeot 504 of the time. Having a few more horsepower than the Diesel version was a nice help for Camporese-Dodonè. The gearbox was also replaced with a 5-speed version. The axle, chassis and suspension were reinforced to withstand all the stresses the car is subjected to during competition.

But the real special feature of this adventure is that Camporese and Didonè showed up at the start with everything on board! This means that they had no assistance along the route and that everything they needed to face the race was stowed in the car, starting from spare parts to everything needed to organize bivouacs in the rest areas and spare clothing. In the equipment to face the race, some Mafra products could not be missing either ! All the best for car care but also professional products such as Sviting Rapid, an unlocking spray with strong penetrating action, Deterjet Rapid, a multi-use degreaser ideal for mechanical parts and brake discs, and radiator coolant Stil-Flu Red.

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Camporese and Didonè wanted to totally relive the spirit with which privateers participated in the Dakar in the 1980s. All this means facing the race with a considerable extra weight and, of course, the goal is not to look for a placing among the first but to bring the car to the final finish line, facing any difficulty without ever giving up.

Getting to the finish line despite setbacks

The Dakar is never a walk in the park, and Camporese and Didonè's was no different. Our two fearless heroes had to solve several problems, but their desire to get to the finish line in Jeddah never made them give up.

Imagination, speed of execution, and mechanical knowledge were essential to deal with any unforeseen events and make it to the end of the race.

Goodbye to engine and gearbox mounts

In the first few days of the race, all the engine and gearbox mounts tore, remaining hanging around the bodywork, with obvious problems in the continuation of the race. Thanks to their imagination, Camporese and Didonè managed to remedy this unfortunate inconvenience.

The front engine mounts were replaced with 2 ratchet belts. While the center support, which had torn, was restored with a piece of sheet metal found during a stop. This damage was caused by the rear axle coming too far forward. Thanks to a ratchet strap our heroes were able to put it back in place.In this way they were able to complete the test.

At this point, the condition of the Peugeot 504 was truly compromised. It was only thanks to the support of Marco Mattioli and the Mafra dealer in Riyadh that Camporese and Didonè, taking advantage of the cancellation of a stage, were able to restore the car, thus managing to continue their adventure.

Front arm gives way

Another unforeseen event that Camporese and Didonè had to deal with was the failure of a front arm of the car. In this case, thanks to the equipment of spare parts on board, our crew was able to solve the mishap so as to complete the test in the allotted time.

The right spirit of the enterprise

When they signed up for the second Dakar Classic, Camporese and Didonè's goal was not final placings, certainly not among the best, but to arrive with the legendary "Leoncino" at the end of the race.

Speed of execution and the ability to take action on the car were essential to tackle this adventure without any technical assistance. Their courage and a fair amount of madness did the rest....

We at Mafra are very proud of the support we were able to give our heroes to accomplish this wonderful feat by overcoming countless difficulties. Truly a great victory!

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