The city at the heart of Italy’s Motor Valley joins the rally’s new adventure across the Moroccan desert. Mayor Marco Panieri’s greetings, together with a city pennant, will travel with the participants.

There is a thread connecting Imola, on the banks of the Santerno River, with the Moroccan desert: a passion for motors. From the Motor Valley and the curves of the Enzo e Dino Ferrari racetrack, the route ideally extends all the way to the Moroccan tracks and vast expanses of sand.

It is along this thread that the FenekRally fits in, ready to set off this weekend. Organized by Spaniard Lluis Rosa, the event brings together enthusiasts from several countries and combines the sporting dimension with the more authentic side of travel: discovery, exchange, sharing experiences, and encounters with different people and cultures.

Along this journey, Imola goes beyond its simple connection with the world of motors. International by vocation, the city is symbolically accompanying the participants in the motoring event as they embark on a new adventure.

This connection is made even more evocative by the screening of the film about the Dakar Rally, shown a few weeks ago at the racetrack, which brought the imagery of great desert challenges right to the Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit. For one day, the sand came to Imola. Now, in a sense, it is Imola that is travelling towards the desert and Morocco.

The FenekRally is not merely a sporting challenge, but also an example of how sport can bring people closer together, overcome borders and languages, and create opportunities for encounters. This message is particularly meaningful at a time in history when dialogue, mutual understanding, and the building of relationships between people and countries have taken on even greater importance.

For this reason, Imola has chosen to accompany the rally’s departure with a small symbol of the city: a signed city pennant that will travel through the desert alongside the participants. A simple gesture, but one full of meaning. A way of carrying with them the greetings of a community that has made its passion for motors an integral part of its identity and that, through that same passion, can help build a bridge between different territories and cultures.

The message is being symbolically delivered by Imola Mayor Marco Panieri, from the historic Sala del Gonfalone in the Town Hall.

“A small gift from the city to accompany the participants into the Moroccan desert, on the occasion of a wonderful experience that brings together Imola, motors, the Motor Valley, and the many organizations and communities that are part of this world. Among them is the Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit, which only recently hosted the screening of the film about the Dakar Rally, bringing the sand directly onto the track in Imola. And from Imola, I would like to send my greetings to all of you. Good luck and… full throttle!”