Francisco "Chaleco" López Contardo (born 15 September 1975) is a rally raid, motocross and enduro motorcycle rider and Off-road racing driver. He's a veteran of the Dakar Rally, having made his first start on a bike in 2007, and has since then won the rally the UTV/SSV (T4) class in 2019 & 2021; and, in the Lightweight Prototypes (T3) class in 2022.
He also took part in inaugural edition of the World Rally-Raid Championship in 2022, winning in the T3 category.
López began riding motorcycles at 4 years of age through the encouragement of his father Renato López, a national motocross champion. His nickname Chaleco comes from the Spanish for vest, particularly the vest used for race protection.
Career In 1989 López came first in the Latin American Motocross Championship in the 85cc class, which resulted in him becoming an official Honda rider. Between 1990 and 1994 he competed in the Chilean National Motocross Championship 125cc category, and was placed twice and won twice, and between 1995 and 2000 in the 250cc category of the same competition was placed once and won five times. He also won the Latin American Supercross Championship in 1998.
In 2001 López became the first Chilean rider to receive a gold medal in the Six Days of France competition at Brive-la-Gaillarde. The following year he rode in the 250cc four-stroke endurance world championship in Finland, gaining eighth place. He finished tenth overall in the 500cc four-stroke category in the same event in 2003. After a gold medal in the 2003 Six Days of Brazil competition at Fortaleza he was named as "best rider of year" by Chilean sports' journalists.
In 2004 he was national runner-up in super enduro, and participated again in the National Motocross Championship, and in Supermotard competitions. The following year he made his competitive debut in the Patagonia-Atacama Rally, withdrew through mechanical problems after winning the fourth stage, but finished in fourth position overall. He also debuted at the National Championship Motocross Entel, coming second in the 250cc category.
In 2006 López was placed first in the 450cc category of Patagonia-Atacama Rally, second in the d'Italia Sardegna Rally (Italy), and second in the 450cc category of the Morocco Rally.
He participated for the first time in the Dakar Rally in 2007 but had to withdraw during the race. The 2008 Dakar Rally was cancelled as a competition and replaced by an alternative, the 2008 Central Europe Rally, in which López finished second. He returned to Dakar in 2009, winning the first stage and finishing seventh overall. The same year he was placed third in the Tunisia Rally. In the 2010 Dakar Rally he won the fifth, eighth and twelfth stage, was awarded first place in the 450cc category and third place overall. His Dakar third place, a position shared with his compatriot Carlo de Gavardo who competed in the 2001 Dakar Rally, is the highest placing of a Latin American at Dakar.
Honours YearTournamentResult 1989 Latin American Motocross Championship 1st 1990National Motocross Championship(125cc.) 2nd 1991 1st 1992 3rd 19931st 1994 1995National Motocross Championship (250cc.) 2nd 19961st 1997 1998 1998 Latin American Supercross Championship 1999National Motocross Championship (250cc.) 2000 2001 Six Days of FranceGold medal 2003 Six Days of Brazil2006 Patagonia–Atacama Rally 1st d'Italia Sardegna Rally2nd Morocco Rally (450cc.) 2008 Central Europe Rally 2nd 2009 Tunisia Rally3rd 2010 Dakar Rally 2010 Tunisia Rally 1st 2011 2011 Dakar Rally 4th 2012 2012 Dakar Rally DNF 2013 2013 Dakar Rally 3rd 2014 2014 Dakar Rally DNF 2014 Desafío Guaraní 2014 1st 2017 Rally Mobil 2017, R2 category 1st2019 2019 Dakar Rally, UTV's 1st2020 2020 Dakar Rally, UTV's 3rd2021 2021 Dakar Rally, UTV's 1st2022 2022 Dakar Rally, T3 1st2022 2022 World Rally-Raid Championship, T3 1st2023 2022 Dakar Rally T3 5th2023 2022 World Rally-Raid Championship, T3 5th*
Racing record
Dakar Rally YearClassVehiclePositionStages won2007Bikes Honda Ret 02009 KTM Ret 12010 Aprilia 3rd 32011 4th 12012 Ret 12013 KTM 3rd 52014 Ret 02019 SSV Can-Am 1st 42020 3rd 22021 1st 62022Light Prototypes 1st 02023 5th 12024 4th 1
Complete World Rally-Raid Championship results (key) Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 Points 2022 Can-Am Factory South Racing BRP Can-Am Maverick XRS T3 DAK ABU MOR AND 1st 199 2023 Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team USA by BFG BRP Can-Am Maverick XRS T3 DAK ABU SON DES MOR 4th* 55*
* Season still in progress
References
External links
Official website (Spanish)