Francisco López Contardo
| "Chaleco" Lopez | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Chilean |
| Full name | Francisco Lopez Contardo |
| Born | 15 September 1975 Curicó, Maule Region, Chile |
| Current team | Red Bull Can-Am Factory Team |
| Championship titles | |
| 2019 2021 2022 2022 | Dakar Rally (SSV/T4) Dakar Rally (Lightweight Prototypes/T3) World Rally-Raid Championship |
Francisco "Chaleco" López Contardo (born 15 September 1975 in Curicó, Maule Region, Chile) 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.