After racing his first two Dakar Rallies on a KTM 450 Rally, Tomás de Gavardo will assume the saddle of a Fantic XEF 450 Rally as a factory rider for Fantic Rally Team. He is the first South American to join the marque’s works division as they hope to expand their market on the continent.
Despite starting the race with a cold, Gavardo finished twenty-fifth in Rally2 at the latest Dakar Rally in January with a best run of twenty-third in Stage #9. Riding for BAS World KTM Racing Team, it was his second Dakar after a thirty-third in class at the 2023 edition.
Before tackling marathon rallies, Gavardo won the FIM Bajas World Cup’s Junior Trophy champion in 2019. He made his World Rally-Raid Championship début at the 2022 Andalucía Rally, placing tenth in Rally2 to clinch his 2023 Dakar ticket.
His late father Carlo de Gavardo was the first Chilean to race the Dakar Rally, finishing third in 2001. The younger Gavardo began his career in enduro at the age of six, eventually going on to be a national champion. He began dabbling in cross-country rallies in 2016, and his racing experience also includes equally legendary events like the 2022 Baja 1000.
Gavardo’s first race with Fantic will be the Rallye du Maroc on 6–11 October.
“We are a small Italian company with a huge passion for what we do, and we look forward to getting our brand known to even more people in Chile, South America, and worldwide,” said Fantic business development manager Matilde Tomagnini. “Dedicated and passionate riders like Tomás perfectly align with this vision.”
Fantic, a staple of the enduro world, fielded three factory bikes at the 2024 Dakar Rally for enduro champions Jane Daniels, Jeremy Miroir, and Tommaso Montanari. Mioir, a former FIM International Six Days of Enduro winner, finished the best of the trio with a nineteenth in Rally2 ahead of Daniels’ thirty-third and Montanari’s seventy-eighth. In April, the manufacturer expanded their rally operations by opening the Fantic Rally Raid and Fantic Rally Xperience programmes, the former lending official support at W2RC rounds as well as a factory ride for the 2026 Dakar Rally, while the latter provides the same for amateur rallies.
The 2025 Dakar Rally is on 3–17 January.
