The 2024 Dakar Rally will mark an historic moment for motorcycling, as the Italian manufacturer, Tacita, debuts electric technology in the two-wheeled class.
Japan’s ‘big four’ manufacturers - Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, and Suzuki - will be present this year in Saudi Arabia for the Dakar Rally in the form of their collective HySE project, with a hydrogen-fuelled buggy running an engine designed for use in motorcycles. But, there will also be innovation in the two-wheeled class itself, as the event welcomes back the first manufacturer to run the event with an electric bike.
Electric power is nothing new to the Dakar. In 2017, Acciona became the first manufacturer to complete the Dakar with an electric vehicle, and in 2022 Carlos Sainz made history by becoming the first driver to win a stage of the Dakar in an electric car: the Audi RS Q E-Tron.
Tacita debuted at the Dakar back in 2020, when it became the first manufacturer to compete in the famous race with an electric motorcycle. In 2024, it will make its return.
It will do so with its Discanto model, which features the novelty - for electric bikes - of a five-speed gearbox, as well as liquid cooling for the motor, controller, and battery management system. It also has a swappable battery system that allows depleted batteries to be exchanged for fresh ones during the Dakar’s refuelling breaks.
It’s certainly an odd-looking machine, with that huge front fairing extending way beyond the fork, and the tail coming up short of the back of the rear wheel, but its visuals aren’t necessarily offensive, and in any case Tacita will be focusing more on the bike’s performance than its looks.
Tacita will also be using its ‘T-Station’ during the Dakar, which aims to provide a working space for the Tacita Formula Corse team that is free of CO2 and noise pollution.
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