One of our slogan is: "Yes, we know adventure riders" because we genuinely care for adventure, we live by it, we support it and we created Westwind to make it possible for riders around the world to pursue their own adventures....
That's why when we heard about this story, we had to get involved.
Andrea Gava, is an Italian Rally rider who, as many before him, has dreamt his whole life of racing in the Dakar Rally.
He's a normal guy, not a wealthy background, not a sports superstar... A good, very good rider, who, as most of us, has to earn a living with a normal job and has been pursuing his passion for off-road motorcycle racing on the limited resources one can spare after the bills are paid every month.
Grinding and saving, grinding and training, grinding and never loosing sight of the objective despite the challenges.
This summer Andrea was finally able to put together the resources that would allow him to sign up in the most famous Rally raid race on the planet. Finally the coronation of his dream!
However, one last hurdle remained. In order to be accepted, rules dictated he had to complete at least another FIM recognized Rally raid that would allow him to score qualifying points.
Only one race remained on the calendar at that point: The Rally of Morocco, valid for the Rally Raid World Championship.
But... even choosing to participate in the Malle Moto category, which follows in the footsteps of the legendary pioneers of this sport demanding that riders have no assistance from a team whatsoever, take care of their bike's maintenance on their own and carry all the necessary equipment needed over the entire race in a single box.... even so, the budget was out of reach.
Transportation, and logistics to ship the bike to the race venue in the middle of the moroccan desert were still expenses he could not meet with his limited budget without jeopardising what had already been saved up for the Dakar...not to mention some more was still needed for part of the subscription fees.
That's when the crazy idea was born. That's when the seed of an adventure was planted. That's when at Westwind moto we knew: This was a real adventure rider and we wanted to do our part.
Andrea's solution was simple. Why ship the bike over to Morocco if it could be ridden there? Travel to the race carrying along all the necessary gear, complete the race, and ride back home. Simple no?
Yes, simple...except Andrea suddenly needed to find a luggage system that would at the same time meet several crucial requirements:
- It has to be sturdy, built with no compromise. Real quality guaranteed to last and endure the journey without flinching no matter the weather and road conditions.
- It had to be flexible enough to allow him to carry along everything he needed, from spare parts to tools, to clothing, to his tent and sleeping bag... but at the same time be easily and seamlessly installed on his Kove 450 Rally bike, and allow him to quickly remove it once the journey part was over and the race began...
- It had to be outstanding value for money. Premium, but without the premium price tag.
That's when a friend advised Andrea he purchase a full set from Westwind. He recommended our Ranger Wilds series RW 40 Rackless system and a D40 Duffle bag, because he owned one set, and would swear by it.
So that's what Andrea did.
He got on the net and placed an order from our website.
It all would have ended there if it weren't that one of our team members is Italian and recognized Andrea's name in the list of shipments to be sent out on that day...
"Andrea Gava...as in the rally rider who had been making a name for himself in many smaller and larger races in Italy!?"
It couldn't be... or could it?
A phone call followed. An immediate reciprocal understanding and the shared dream of an adventure ready to unfold...
At Westwind we loved this story. A real adventure like those of days past.
A man with a goal, a challenge to meet, a ride of a lifetime!
That's when we decided Andrea deserved our support. He had already bough and paid for his RW40 and D40, but there were a few pieces we thought might be helpful additions so we decided to chip in. We included a Hussar T4 Tank bag, ideal for those quickly needed items along the road without having to get off the bike, and our new RW10b dual use Hydration pack to stay hydrated under the scorching sun while having some space to spare to also distribute the weight of all the gear to be carried along.
Once we learned a little money was also still missing to cover the entire budget, we gladly offered to become his main technical sponsor for this adventure, and quickly a Westwind branded set of decals was prepared for his bike specifically.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Andrea has travelled several thousands of Kilometers on his way to Morocco from his hometown in northern Italy, raced on his Westwind sponsored Kove 450, and ridden all the way back home with the same bike he raced for a week.
Most importantly, he scored the necessary points to qualify for the 2026 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia.
We couldn't be happier for him, and are proud that our luggage has been able to play a small but hopefully significant role in this beautiful story. It has been a real privilege for us all, here at Westwind to be able to support and help a fellow rider realize his dream.
This is what we were born for, and these are the things that spur us on, to keep working, keep developing, keep improving. To be the perfect companion and facilitator of riders all around the globe.
Yes, we know adventure riders, because adventures are what made us all riders in the first place, because adventures are what make life worth living, and the world being explored one ride at the time!
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