Beppe Gualini is the man responsible for the day-to-day running of Ducati press launches, but his story is so much more than that. As you roll through life, people like Gualini are ones who stick in your mind. They bury a place in your memory, for people like Beppe are prime examples of living life to its maximum potential, to leave nothing on the table when your day of reckoning comes.
Engulfed by a love of two wheels, Gualini did not have the financial means to compete as a young lad. Instead, he placed a priority on education, going on to attain a degree as a teacher in Physical Education. But, even though competing was not yet an option, traveling was, and with a Ducati Scrambler under him, in , the young Gualini set off for Africa.
I sleep one night in the sleeping bag, me and my bike. I go the second day with the passport. It was a magazine from France, and after, I see a motorbike with the number.
The [rider] said they will cross the Tenere Desert. That was my dream. Like a sailor crossing the ocean. So, I jump in the convoy of the Paris-Dakar, tell the military to f— off, and I cross the border. The original Paris-Dakar, running from to , was a far cry from the manicured South American spectacle it is today. Gualini had a similar feeling of the never-ending Tenere terrain on his return to Italy, and knew he found his calling.
Working odd jobs, including as a lifeguard, and with rallying gaining momentum as a sport in Europe, Gualini decided to enter Pharaohs Rally in Egypt on a cc Fantic two-stroke. Running miles south non-stop through the night from Venice to Brindisi on the little Fantic to catch a three-day ship to Alexandria in Egypt was another experience for Gualini. So, I was putting [oil in] during the ride without a stop.
