Vespa at the Paris-Dakar

Few people know that in 1980 two Vespa Px 200s reached the finish line of the Paris-Dakar (it was the second edition of this desert 'classic'); they were driven by riders M. Simonot and B. Tcherniawsky. The team, of French nationality and organised by Jean-François Piot, was assisted by four-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans Henri Pescarolo. Vespa has always been a symbol of travel and freedom. A few examples: in the 1950s Giancarlo Tironi, an Italian university student, reached the Arctic Circle on a Vespa and the Argentinean Carlos Velez crossed the Andes from Buenos Aires to Santiago del Chile. In 1964, the Italian journalist Roberto Patrignani rides a Vespa from Milan to Tokyo; Santiago Guillen and Antonio Veciana go from Madrid to Athens: their Vespa, which was personally decorated by Salvador Dalì for the occasion, is still on display at the Piaggio Museum. And it is impossible to keep count of all the Vespisti from all over Europe and the world who have made the journey to the North Cape on a Vespa.