Rally Dakar 2005

Repsol Riders. Giovanni Sala
Nationality: ItalianDate of birth: November 23, 1963Place of residence: Olera, Bergamo  Best results 1992: World Enduro Champion by Teams at the Six Days (Australia Spain)Absolute Individual Winner at the Six Days (Australia)1993: 500cc World Enduro Champion500cc Italian Enduro Champion1994: 250cc World Enduro ChampionWorld Enduro Champion at the Six Days (USA)Absolute Italian Enduro Champion250cc Italian Enduro Champion1995: 250cc World Enduro ChampionAbsolute Italian Enduro Champion250cc Italian Enduro Champion1996: Absolute Individual Winner at the Six Days (Finland)Absolute Italian Enduro Champion250cc Italian Enduro Champion1997: World Enduro Champion by Teams at the Six Days (Italy)Absolute Individual Winner of the Six Days (Italy)Absolute Italian Enduro Champion250cc Italian Enduro Champion1998: World Enduro Champion, over 175cc classAbsolute World Enduro ChampionIndividual Winner of the Six Days (Australia)Absolute Italian Enduro Champion250cc Italian Enduro Champion17th in the Dakar1999: World Enduro Champion, 400cc 4-strokeOverall Italian Enduro Champion250cc Italian Enduro Champion7th in the Dakar2000: World Enduro Champion by Teams at the Six Days (Australia Spain)250cc Italian Enduro Champion2001: 250cc Italian Enduro Champion14th in the Dakar2002: 250cc Italian Enduro Champion6th in the Dakar2003: Runner-up in the World Enduro Championship by Teams at the Six Days (Brazil)Runner-up Italian Enduro Championship, 250cc 4-stroke 14th in the Dakar2004: 8th Absolute Italian Enduro ChampionshipChampion of the 250cc 2-stroke class21st World Enduro Championship (8th class II)  Gio, as everybody calls him, was born in Gorle, in the province of Bergamo, on November 23, 1963. The beginning of his career as a rider was quite curious: although he lived hundred metres from the Farioli Team headquarters, his debut in the world of motorcycling was on a Fantic 125cc motorcycle. His inborn enduro talent took him to win his first championship title in 1981. Then he moved on to motocross where he reached the senior category with some help and a lot of adversity. But, as the proverb says No love like the first love, in the early 1990s he returned to occasionally race in enduro. In 1991 he finally became part of the official Farioli KTM Team and began his escalation of the world championship title. In eight years, he won a total of 46 races, became five times World Champion and two times runner-up. Gio remembers as the most beautiful moment of his career, the 1997 Six Days Enduro in Lumezzane, where he won the cross test on the last day. The worst moment of his sports career was the defeat in the 1992 Enduro World Championship. His performance during the 1998 World Championship should not be forgotten either, when Sala won all the races and was voted the fastest Enduro rider in the World Championship. Always in the pursuit for new stimuli, he has also taken part in the adventure of the Dakar. He was protagonist of the 1998 edition, where he obtained a valuable 18th position, considering his inexperience and several falls. The Italian remembers the 1998 season as the most important moment of his sports career; because he won everything he could possibly win. That year he took the absolute and over-175cc World Enduro Championship, the absolute and 250cc Italian Enduro Championship and he won the Six Days in Australia in the over-175cc class. In the 1999 edition of the Dakar, Giovanni was the protagonist of the official KTM Gauloises Team and took the task of quick supporter for fellow-bikers due to team requirements. All the same, he was able to win a stage and finished seventh overall, being first of the Italian participants. 1999 was an important turning point in his sports career. For the first time he competed in the 400cc four-stroke Enduro World Championship, on a bike that was totally different to the 250cc two-stroke machines Sala had always ridden to obtain victory after victory. With friend, rival and team-mate Mario Rinaldi, he took on a thrilling duel to keep all the fans in suspense until the end of the Championship and only at the last race in the Czech Republic, Gio was able to be crowned World Champion of the class. Gio hasnt missed a single Dakar since 1998, and of the seven editions he has raced, he hasnt been able to finish in only two occasions: 2000 and 2004. In the last edition of the rally, while he was fulfilling his task as a squid to Fabrizio Meoni, Sala suffered a strong crash after only six stages. Despite being assisted by young Repsol rider Marc Coma, the Italian was forced to retire from the race, not without first helping Coma to continue in the race, giving him the mechanical piece he needed to move on. Premonitory or not, Giovanni Sala makes a new step forward in his sports career signing for the Repsol KTM Team, contributing with his invaluable experience, with the aim of regaining the title of the big African challenge. Giovanni Sala, defines himself as an honest and nice man, who dedicates his spare time to enjoying rock and Latin-American music, Italian gastronomy and extreme sports; obviously not forgetting to keep himself in shape, jogging two or three hours a day with his inseparable dog or riding one of his enduro bikes.