1990 Edi Orioli Cagiva Paris-Dakar Racer
With Phil Aynsley
In a recent column about the Cagiva 906 Elefant SP (link) I briefly referred to the works Paris-Dakar racers. Here is Edi Orioli’s winning bike from 1990.
Three Lucky Explorer Elefants were entered in the Prototype Class in that year’s event (which was the final year for this class). These bikes were the equivalent of rally GP machines!
The works bikes used 904cc motors built in the Ducati Race Dept. and featured, among other things, magnesium engine covers, a dry sump with the bottom of the crankcases removed and a hand built oil tank fitted in the place of the starter motor.
I was able to photograph one of these motors in the Ducati Race Dept. in 2007.
This bike has remained in Roberto Azzalin’s collection since 1990 and is complete apart from the navigation equipment (sourced from an aircraft) and the LH tank decals.
Azzalin was a founding owner of the Cagiva motorcycle business together with the Castiglioni brothers and was the Cagiva Rally Team manager from ’84-’95.
Roberto Azzalin has the complete collection of each year’s bikes entered during his involvement with the team.
