Lantania sponsors the first Spanish team to compete in the Dakar Rally with an electric motorbike

• The Green Power Race Team is led by rider Fran Pallas, who will compete in the ‘Mission 1000’ category of the world’s toughest rally

Madrid, 4 December 2023. Lantania sponsors the first Spanish team to compete in the Dakar Rally with an electric motorbike. The Infrastructure, Water and Energy Group reaffirms its commitment to innovation in sustainability by supporting the Green Power Race team, led by rider Francisco Gómez Pallas, Fran Pallas, who will compete in the 46th edition of the Dakar Rally on an electric motorbike in the ‘Mission 1000’ category.

The fifth edition of the rally, which will be held in Saudi Arabia, will start in AlUla on 5 January and finish in Yanbu on the shores of the Red Sea on 19 January, and, for the first time in its history, technology that guarantees zero emissions will be competing. The Green Power Race Team will race with a prototype electric racing motorbike based on a Zero DS series model. The bike features the Z-Force 75-7 electric motor, which delivers 70 horsepower and is powered by a Z-Force lithium-ion smart battery.

The suspension and various elements such as the fairing have been adapted to the requirements of the Dakar Rally and the bike has been equipped with the navigation and safety devices required for the race. The battery is recharged using clean equipment powered by renewable energy sources, without compromising performance or efficiency.

Fran Pallas

This will be the eighth Dakar Rally for Fran Pallas, the Galician rider who has been competing in national and international motocross and dirt track events for 20 years. Currently, Pallas is one of the top 30 private riders in the world circuit of the Dakar Rally Series, one of the most outstanding Europeans, and one of the best Spanish motorcyclists in the competition.

“The Dakar Rally is much more than just a rally. To be able to take part in it again with a project as special as this one, which I have built from scratch, means so much more to me than just riding a mythical bike”, says Fran Pallas. “My goal is clear: to finish in the top 3 of the ‘Mission 1000’.”

Dakar Rally Future ‘Mission 1000’

As part of the Dakar Rally Future programme, which aims to achieve 100% alternative energy in the Dakar Rally by 2030, ‘Mission 1000’ offers hydrogen, 100% electric and hybrid-powered vehicles the opportunity to compete in the rally without having to face excessively long or demanding stages. Participants in the ‘Mission 1000’ will complete a route of approximately one hundred kilometres per day, which, although different from the official route, will present similar difficulties.

Participants in this category will cover 100 km to complete a total of 1,000 km and validate their technical options for future development. This category is a real test for manufacturers to gather as much information as possible. Although this challenge is not considered a competition, a number of evaluation criteria have been established to test the vehicles and encourage drivers to perform to a high standard. Nine vehicles will take part in this edition of the project, including motorbikes, cars and trucks.