Marco Piana has participated in Pharaons Rally six times. He will be back in Egypt from October 1st to the 8th as team manager with Thierry Magnaldi, both aiming to improve the development of the SSV Polaris RZR 900 XT in real race conditions.
Pharaons Rally has always seduced Marco Piana, who participated in the race six times since 2001, in car and truck. This year, the rally raid lover brings a new project to the light: to make participation in cross country rally races accessible for all competitors and he comes to Pharaons as team manager to test his plan.
“To take part in cross country rally world cup races has a very high price. I wanted to find a formula so “Monsieur Tout le Monde” (any driver) that dreams about participating in one of these races can make it true. With an SSV, a driver can have as much as sensations as behind the steer wheel, and the global budget remains accessible,” explains Piana, who launches his project with Polaris.
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o bring this idea to life, he needed a very talented driver with an enormous background in cross country. “I chose Thierry Magnaldi because he has the experience I was looking for. He knows how to navigate and how to keep a cold mind in each situation. Before proposing this project to other drivers we must make it reliable. We carry out its development with Magnaldi, because he knows how to give us great information to improve it,” assures Piana.
Marco Piana and Thierry Magnaldi made their first appearance with the SSV Polaris RZR 900 XT at the Silk Way Rally and their main goal is the Dakar 2012. “We tested the SSV on very rough and fast roads in Russia. What we really need is to test it on the sand and for that there is nothing better than Pharaons Rally: dunes, sand and more sand. This is the challenge we need!” assures Piana, ready to launch his SSV driven by Magnaldi in Egypt next October 1st.
