Andrea Gava was anxious about if his application for the 2026 Dakar Rally would be accepted. By September, well after the ASO had already sent out acceptance letters, he seemed resigned that he’ll probably have to wait until 2027. Thus, he signed up for the Rallye du Maroc in October to hopefully boost his chances of acceptance for that year’s race.

As it turned out, he was unknowingly knocking on the door for the 2026 edition. The ASO reached out to him in September while he was preparing for Morocco to tell him he could race Dakar, but only if he completed the Rallye du Maroc and paid the entry fees.

While his Dakar ticket was all but assured, he had issues with his actual ticket to Morocco: he accidentally brought a photocopy of his ferry registration and not the original, only for the latter to have the wrong license number. “McGayver” improvised by drawing up a “license plate” for his Kove that was permitted.

The race itself was a challenge, especially as he was racing by himself as a Malle Moto rider, but he avoided crashes and other troubles to finish 29th in Rally2. His best daily outing was 24th in Stage 3.

With a finishers’ plaque in hand, he’s on his way to his maiden Dakar. Like in Morocco, he plans to compete in Original by Motul. Dakar veteran and fellow Italian rider Tiziano Internò, who finished tenth in Malle Moto in 2025, has been instrumental in coaching him.

“Le Touquet had already made me realize that longer races are in my DNA,” Gava told FMI Veneto, the Italian FIM federation. He competed in the Enduropale du Touquet twice and won the Italian Motorally Championship in RT3 last year. “A friend told me the only thing missing was the Dakar. He was right: from that moment on, I’ve never stopped thinking about it.”

Featured image credit: Kove Italia