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The 2022 Dakar Rally may be in the rear-view mirror, but the UK is delighted with British driver Sam Sunderland claiming his second Dakar victory and the first for the Gas Gas Factory Racing team. Bolton, England-based CCM is one of the party Brits, and the company’s latest Rallye 600 build keeps the Dakar energy going all year round.
Led by Steve Hague, passionate off-road motorcycle driver and double winner of the Dakar (1999 and 2004), the Rallye 600 project recalls the heyday of Paris-Dakar. Starting with a CCM Spitfire Scrambler, the build team retains the model’s signature high-strength steel trellis frame and liquid-cooled, DOHC, four-valve, 600cc single-cylinder engine. The mighty mill still produces 55 horsepower and 42.7 lb-ft of torque, but the rest of the Spitfire gets a complete makeover.
Hague replaces the 17-inch rear wheel and 19-inch front wheel with 18-inch rear and 21-inch front wire-spoke wheels wrapped in Michelin tires. Marzocchi suspension replaces the original equipment, and new triple clamps prepare the Scrambler for rough off-road terrain. Brembo brakes, a sturdy skid plate and Renthal handlebars complete the technical improvements.
The Rallye 600 takes much of its bodywork and styling from the 1985 Paris-Dakar victorious BMW R80 G/S. Like the rig flown to the finish line by Gaston Rahier, the Spitfire now features a plentiful aluminum fuel tank, raised rally fender, headlight nacelle, hand guards and rear fender. The team then paints the Rallye 600 in the legendary Marlboro livery.
Hague hits us with a final dose of vintage Paris-Dakar nostalgia with heat-wrapped pipes and a VSD-badged rear number plate. Yes, we may have to wait a whole year before the Dakar Rally returns in 2023, but the CCM Spitfire Scrambler Rallye 600 should keep us going until then.
