An enthusiastic crowd at the finish line of the 2008 Pharaohs Rally in Cairo saw Alex Zanotti and the Aprilia RXV 450 Africa entered by Team Giofil 3000 win the 450 class and finish in third place overall.
The RXV’s Italian V twin engine proved superbly reliable. Apart from winning the 450 class, all three official Aprilia RXV 450 Africas entered by Team Giofil 3000 finished in the first eleven overall positions.
In addition to Zanotti’s success as top Italian (or citizen of San Marino to be precise), rider and journalist Angelo Barbiero came third in the 450 class and seventh overall, and Paolo Ceci finished fourth in the 450 class and eleventh overall. Ceci actually won the 450 class in the last leg of the rally into Cairo, moving up a number of places in the points table after an unlucky start marked by a couple of falls on previous legs.

Aprilia’s ‘baby’ V twin has therefore gained the satisfaction of finishing ahead of bikes with far bigger engines in its very first desert race, confirming its validity in the extreme tests represented by Africa’s great long distance rallies.
“We are delighted with our achievement at the Pharaohs Rally”, Leo Francesco Mercanti, Product Development Manager for the Piaggio Group stated. “It represents another step forward in the challenge that Aprilia has launched by breaking with convention -  something that Aprilia has always done – and introducing the V twin engine into off-road racing. After our victories in supermotard and enduro, this win, obtained in collaboration with a team who believe in the validity of the engine as we do, opens up doors to future success and demonstrates the great reliability of these bikes.”

Pharaohs Rally, 5-11 October 2008
Overall positions, bikes: 1st David Casteau (KTM 690); 2nd Frans Verhoeven (KTM 690); 3rd Alex Zanotti (Aprilia RXV 450 Africa); 4th Luca Manca (TM); 5th Oscar Polli (KTM 690); 6th Emanuel Gyenes (KTM 690); 7th Angelo Barbiero (Aprilia RXV 450 Africa); 8th Marcel Butza (KTM 690); 9th Ludovic Boinnard (KTM 690); 10th Alexandru Garbacea (KTM 690); 11th Paolo Ceci (Aprilia RXV 450 Africa); 12th Annie Seel (KTM 525); 13th Jacet Czachor (KTM 450); 14th Matteo Poli (Yamaha 450); 15th Maurizio Sanna (KTM 530).
Final positions, 450 class: 1st Alex Zanotti (Aprilia RXV 450 Africa); 2nd Luca Manca (TM); 3rd Angelo Barbiero (Aprilia RXV 450 Africa); 4th Paolo Ceci (Aprilia RXV 450 Africa); 5th Jacet Czachor (KTM 450); 6th Matteo Poli (Yamaha 450); 7th Stephane Henrard (Yamaha 450); 8th Victor Rivera (KTM 450); 9th Alberto Dottori (Yamaha 450); 10th Jordi Abello Mur (Yamaha 450);