Italian manufacturer Aprilia has announced it is preparing for a return to the top rally raids in 2024 with an ambitious project that will be overseen by Aprilia Racing . The last time Aprilia took on Rally Raid racing was Aprilia ’ s previous participation in the Dakar Rally back in 2010-2012 with the 450 v-twin platform . The Noale racing division returns to the world of off-road racing with the “ Back to Africa ” project in which it plans to develop the new Aprilia Tuareg 660 into a world beater . The Aprilia Tuareg project will be overseen by Italian racer Jacopo Cerutti . The rider from Como has multiple Italian Motorally wins to his name , bringing home four Italian and one European Enduro titles as well as having participated in Dakar six times already . He will be partnered by Francesco Montanari , a national-level Enduro rider who achieved a great rookie performance at the Tricolore Motorally last year . “ I ’ m very happy to be a part of this project , to work with a brand that ’ s 100 % Italian and that has such a great history in sports is a source of great pride ,” says Cerutti . “ This will be a new challenge for me , coming from experience with the Enduro 450 . I will be riding a twin with enormous potential and will have a key role to play in development . It ’ s an exceptional opportunity for a rider , and I can ’ t wait to start ”. “ With its ‘ Back to Africa ’ project , Aprilia Racing is returning to the world of off-road racing , to the races that forged the division ”, says Aprilia Racing CEO , Massimo Rivola . “ We want to keep growing in the world of Grand Prix motorcycle racing and in on-track races . We want to discover new talent through our SP250 Championship and the RS660 Trophy , but we are also embarking on a completely new project with the extraordinary Aprilia Tuareg . It ’ s an additional sign of development for a racing division that has grown significantly over the past years achieving results never before seen by Aprilia ”. The racing version of the new Aprilia Tuareg 660 will be developed by Aprilia Racing with technical input from GCorse ( brother ’ s Gianfranco and Vittoriano Guareschi ), who already worked on the Tuareg taking part in the Italian Motorally Championship over the course of 2022 . Involvement in the Tricolore Motorally will continue in 2023 , a season that will be entirely focused on developing the project . The starting line will feature two Tuareg 660s with Cerutti and Montanari . Alongside Aprilia Racing ’ s Tuareg project , Aprilia will also be present at the venues of the 2023 Italian Motorally to provide support for all those riding a Tuareg 660 in the new GPX “ entry level ” category , which was specifically created to make the Championship more accessible .