Danilo Petrucci to enter 2025 Dakar Rally - but not on a bike!

Danilo Petrucci will enter next season's Dakar Rally, but in shock machinery.

He won't be riding a motorcycle or driving a car.

Instead, the maverick Petrucci is entering the truck category at the 2025 Dakar Rally.

He has announced a link-up with Italtrans Racing Team and Prometeon Tyre Group for his next adventure.

"I am very happy to join the Italtrans crew and I can't wait to get on board together with Claudio Bellina," he was quoted by Gazzetta.

"I also thank Prometeon very much for making this unique opportunity possible.

“The Dakar is a fascinating challenge and I am excited to experience it for the second time. I will have a lot to learn and I will give my best to help make a good result.

"When they asked me to return to the Dakar I didn't hesitate for a moment, this race has left me a lot, it has made me realise a great dream, to race it and win a stage, to get to the end of the Dakar then gives incredible satisfaction.”

Petrucci already has amassed a unique racing record, after winning races in MotoGP, World Superbikes, MotoAmerica and at his sole Dakar Rally appearance (on a bike) so far.

He is now taking on a shock challenge to race in trucks.

Petrucci's earliest memory in the racing world was travelling in his father's truck to transport machinery for Loris Capirossi.

Now he will get behind the wheel of a truck to test himself in a completely new venture.