Alessandro Botturi close to victory at the Africa Eco Race

A challenge within a challenge. A battle beyond time made of passion, effort and determination. Alessandro Botturi, who has been in action with Formaboots for years, wrote another epic page of history by participating in the 2025 edition of the Africa Eco Race. Only 26 seconds prevented the Yamaha rider from victory after nearly 6.000 kilometers of African sand, rocks and pitfalls.

The 2025 edition of the Africa Eco Race began on December 28th with the starting ceremony in Monte Carlo and finished on January 12th in Dakar. It was two weeks of extreme rallying among the mountains and deserts of Morocco, Mauritania, and Senegal, with only one rest day (January 5th) in Dakhla.

Once again Botturi raced with head, heart and iconic grit, in a duel until the last second against Jacopo Cerutti. The two Italian riders battled from the first to the last day and in the last special stage Botturi gave it all. Starting with only a 9-second gap, he pushed with determination, making up ground at the first two split times and thus taking the lead. Then bad luck came into play: a net caught in the wheel slowed his race at the decisive moment, forcing him to stop and thus lose precious seconds.

The narrow victory and second place demonstrate Botturi’s warrior soul. The passion for racing, the challenge against oneself and the desire to put oneself on the line with the goal of getting better and better and going beyond limits are the qualities that the Yamaha rider shares with Formaboots, which is always looking for continuous improvement in its products dedicated to two-wheel enthusiasts.