Renato Zocchi Proved You Don’t Need Power To Win Races

The 65-year-old rider proved that power isn’t everything by beating out more powerful adventure bikes on his A2-compliant Honda CB500X.

By: Earl Davidson

Jul 24, 2022 at 1:16pm ET

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Earlier in July, Honda Ambassador Renato Zocchi placed fourth overall and third in the twin-cylinder category on the back of his race-prepped Honda CB500X while competing against more powerful bikes.

The experienced rider is now 65 years old and he beat almost everyone at the Gibraltar Race, an adventour race that’s now in its sixth installment. The competition saw riders from all over Europe like the Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia compete in Prague for the 2022 edition of the event.

Experience played a huge role in Zocchi’s win, and it’s quite safe to say that he has loads of it being a former Dakar Rally racer, official Cagiva rider, a winner at the Rally of the Pharaohs, as well as a podium finisher a the Bahia 1000. The competition required him to ride 500 kilometers (310.69 miles) each day, and neither he nor his Honda faltered which gave him his impressive win.

A veteran through and through, he put his little CB500X through its paces. The bike was ready from the start, however, having been modified to take on the most demanding of off-road sections. Only the engine and the chassis of the bike remain stock but all the other pieces were touched to give Zocchi just enough advantage to edge out the competition. The mod list for his bike includes an SC Project exhaust system, suspension that was tuned by Honda, Öhlins and AirTender suspension components, Bridgestone AdventureCross tires mounted on Bartubeless spoked wheels, and an appropriate Honda Racing livery.

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Zocchi thanked the Honda workshop at the Moto Machion dealership in Legnano where Stefano Lucenti took care of all the work. Along with him, Fausto Giancristofaro was in charge of the livery for the bike, as well as Francesco Simone for technical support. Also, Zocchi thanked the rest of the staff at Honda Italia Industriale for helping him achieve his impressive feat.

While the Gibraltar event is one for the books, Zocchi will be retaining the bike for future events until the end of the year. If you’re a fan and want to meet him, he will be bringing his CB500X at the next EICMA for a meet and greet in Milan later this year.