Frédéric Richter Becomes 1st Luxembourg-Licensed Africa Eco Race Rider

On Friday 9 January 2026, motorcycle adventurer Frédéric Richter presented his Africa Eco Race 2026 debut, competing under a Luxembourg licence, during an event held at MotoEmotion in Luxembourg-Hollerich.

The event brought together around 30 motorcycle enthusiasts, who learned more about the participation of the 48-year-old Belgian rider in the rally-raid, scheduled to take place from Saturday 24 January to Saturday 7 February 2026 across Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal.

Speaking to Chronicle.lu, Frédéric Richter explained that the Africa Eco Race is an off-road endurance rally covering more than 6,000 kilometres over twelve days, with daily stages ranging from around 400 to nearly 800 kilometres. He stressed the demanding nature of the event, noting that “you really have to prepare for this technically, physically and mentally”.

He added that his participation follows several years of preparation, saying it “took me three years to gain all the experience”, and explained his choice of the Africa Eco Race over the Dakar Rally, as it “takes back the original route of the Thierry Sabine races of the 1980s”.

Frédéric Richter will compete in the Malle Moto category, a format reserved for riders who race without any external assistance and must manage all mechanical work and logistics themselves. Supported by Motor-Union Luxembourg, he will become the first participant to enter the Africa Eco Race under a Luxembourg-issued licence.

“I decided to go for the extreme one, the original one, the Malle Moto,” Richter explained, referring to the category reserved for riders competing without any external assistance. In this format, participants must carry their own tools, spare parts and camping equipment, and are not allowed outside help except from other Malle Moto riders. During the race, he noted, riders take on a double role: competing on the bike during the day and carrying out all mechanical work themselves in the bivouac in the evening.

Frédéric Richter will compete on a KOVE 450 Rally motorcycle, a bike he has already tested in competition. He explained that he chose not to enter the race with an unfamiliar machine, having previously raced the same bike in Morocco last spring to better understand its behaviour and mechanics. Since then, he has repeatedly assembled and dismantled the motorcycle to know it “by heart”, making several adjustments based on that experience, including improvements to the saddle for added comfort on long stages.

Asked about his objective, Richter was clear that simply reaching the finish line is the priority. “My goal is to arrive in Dakar,” he told Chronicle.lu, underlining the scale of the challenge and the level of preparation required for the self-supported category.

(Caption: Frédéric Richter, motorcycle adventurer and Africa Eco Race participant; Credit: Ievgenii Karanov, Chronicle.lu)