Face to face
bike
A return to the podium?
NUMBER 4 – KTM Repsol RedBull
Carlo De Gavardo (CHI)
Carlo De Gavardo numbers among the great names of the raid rally. Around the World Cup circuit, the Chilean pilot is among the most consistent names on the podiums. This year, his constant presence at the highest level has also earned him a place in the official KTM Repsol RedBull team, with which he is taking part in the Dakar 2006.
De Gavardo’s achievements, particularly his performances in the Dakar, attracted the attention of the manufacturers at an early stage in his career. In 1998 at the age of only 19 and without the benefit of a top-level race structure, he clinched 12th place in the overall ranking in what was his first participation. The Chilean continued to impress in the following editions, becoming a regular and almost ever-present member of the Top 10. Having obtained his best final result in 2001, when he took third place on the podium, De Gavardo also stood out in the 2002 Dakar by claiming a trio of stage victories along the way.
The Dakar 2005, which he entered on a 450-cm3 machine, saw a second abandonment for De Gavardo in the raid rally’s showpiece event, this time at Stage 7. But this didn’t prevent him from shining in the speciality’s world cup by clinching three places on the podium during the year, in Argentina (3rd), Tunisia (2nd) and in the rally of the Pharaohs (2nd); and winning a 450 cm3 title for good measure. In Lisbon, it was with the official KTM Repsol RedBull team that De Gavardo set himself a new challenge, this time on a 660 cm3. Initially expected to be nothing more than a highly experienced team member, the Chilean could yet benefit from the late withdrawal of his team-mate Jordi Duran, who suffered an injury in training. With Coma remaining the team leader, a role as right-hand man could see De Gavardo creep into a leading position as the Dakar approaches.
Carlo De Gavardo’s “Dakar” honours
1998 12th, Paris-Dakar
1999 8th, Grenada-Dakar
2000 Abandoned, Dakar – Cairo
2001 3rd, Paris – Dakar
2002 4th, Arras-Madrid-Dakar
2003 8th, Marseilles – Sharm-el-Sheikh
2004 8th, Clermont-Ferrand – Dakar
2005 Abandoned, Barcelona – Dakar
car
Carlo De Gavardo (CHI)
Carlo De Gavardo numbers among the great names of the raid rally. Around the World Cup circuit, the Chilean pilot is among the most consistent names on the podiums. This year, his constant presence at the highest level has also earned him a place in the official KTM Repsol RedBull team, with which he is taking part in the Dakar 2006.
De Gavardo’s achievements, particularly his performances in the Dakar, attracted the attention of the manufacturers at an early stage in his career. In 1998 at the age of only 19 and without the benefit of a top-level race structure, he clinched 12th place in the overall ranking in what was his first participation. The Chilean continued to impress in the following editions, becoming a regular and almost ever-present member of the Top 10. Having obtained his best final result in 2001, when he took third place on the podium, De Gavardo also stood out in the 2002 Dakar by claiming a trio of stage victories along the way.
The Dakar 2005, which he entered on a 450-cm3 machine, saw a second abandonment for De Gavardo in the raid rally’s showpiece event, this time at Stage 7. But this didn’t prevent him from shining in the speciality’s world cup by clinching three places on the podium during the year, in Argentina (3rd), Tunisia (2nd) and in the rally of the Pharaohs (2nd); and winning a 450 cm3 title for good measure. In Lisbon, it was with the official KTM Repsol RedBull team that De Gavardo set himself a new challenge, this time on a 660 cm3. Initially expected to be nothing more than a highly experienced team member, the Chilean could yet benefit from the late withdrawal of his team-mate Jordi Duran, who suffered an injury in training. With Coma remaining the team leader, a role as right-hand man could see De Gavardo creep into a leading position as the Dakar approaches.
Carlo De Gavardo’s “Dakar” honours
1998 12th, Paris-Dakar
1999 8th, Grenada-Dakar
2000 Abandoned, Dakar – Cairo
2001 3rd, Paris – Dakar
2002 4th, Arras-Madrid-Dakar
2003 8th, Marseilles – Sharm-el-Sheikh
2004 8th, Clermont-Ferrand – Dakar
2005 Abandoned, Barcelona – Dakar
The pioneer
NUMBER 303 – Volkswagen Motorsport
Jutta Kleinschmidt (ALL) – Fabrizia Pons (ITA)
Jutta Kleinschmidt’s name will forever be etched in the history of the Dakar as the first woman to have equalled the men on the track: the first to win a stage in 1997, the first to lead then to mount the Dakar podium in 1999 and, of course, the first to win it in 2001. This unerring progression speaks volumes about the uncommon determination and ambition possessed by the German, who is now a “cornerstone” of Volkswagen’s raid rally activities. And remarkably, nothing in the early life of this woman from Cologne marked her out as a future professional driver.
An engineer who produced a thesis on “the realisation of a climactic test bench for automobile air-conditioning systems”, Jutta Kleinschmidt had to wait until 1985 and the age of 23 before discovering the Dakar on television. But she was immediately hooked and two years later, she gained her first taste of the desert by following the bike Dakar in parallel, an experience that led her to contest her first raid rally, the Rally of the Pharaohs, in 1987, followed by the Dakar the next year. After turning professional in 92, the adopted Monegasque wasted no time creating her first sensation by winning the women’s trophy at the Dakar and claiming 23rd position overall to boot. The following year, she switched to the car, first as co-driver, then as driver for the Schlesser stable. This conversion to 4 wheels resulted in her finishing 2nd in the world in the two-wheel drive category in 94 and 96, and most notably, recording the first-ever triumph by a woman in a stage of the Dakar in 97.
But it was with Mitsubishi that the German conclusively established herself in the rally driving hall of fame by, in 1999, becoming the first woman to lead the Dakar, before adding her name to the honours list of the toughest raid rally of them all. Courtesy of this performance, she obtained the keys to the prestigious Volkswagen stable the following year, becoming the German car-maker’s leading driver.
In 2005, Jutta Kleinschmidt was Volkswagen’s best representative on the Dakar. While there was no real confrontation with the “Mitsus” of Peterhansel and Alphand, Kleinschmidt did remarkably well to defend her place on the podium as far as Dakar. This year, Volkswagen is present in Lisbon with a freshly reviewed and corrected version of the Race Touareg, this time designed to win. Kleinschmidt will be gripping the same steering wheel as Saby, Sainz and De Villiers, but the race circumstances will dictate how the next chapter in Dakar history will be written...
Jutta Kleinschmidt (ALL) – Fabrizia Pons (ITA)
Jutta Kleinschmidt’s name will forever be etched in the history of the Dakar as the first woman to have equalled the men on the track: the first to win a stage in 1997, the first to lead then to mount the Dakar podium in 1999 and, of course, the first to win it in 2001. This unerring progression speaks volumes about the uncommon determination and ambition possessed by the German, who is now a “cornerstone” of Volkswagen’s raid rally activities. And remarkably, nothing in the early life of this woman from Cologne marked her out as a future professional driver.
An engineer who produced a thesis on “the realisation of a climactic test bench for automobile air-conditioning systems”, Jutta Kleinschmidt had to wait until 1985 and the age of 23 before discovering the Dakar on television. But she was immediately hooked and two years later, she gained her first taste of the desert by following the bike Dakar in parallel, an experience that led her to contest her first raid rally, the Rally of the Pharaohs, in 1987, followed by the Dakar the next year. After turning professional in 92, the adopted Monegasque wasted no time creating her first sensation by winning the women’s trophy at the Dakar and claiming 23rd position overall to boot. The following year, she switched to the car, first as co-driver, then as driver for the Schlesser stable. This conversion to 4 wheels resulted in her finishing 2nd in the world in the two-wheel drive category in 94 and 96, and most notably, recording the first-ever triumph by a woman in a stage of the Dakar in 97.
But it was with Mitsubishi that the German conclusively established herself in the rally driving hall of fame by, in 1999, becoming the first woman to lead the Dakar, before adding her name to the honours list of the toughest raid rally of them all. Courtesy of this performance, she obtained the keys to the prestigious Volkswagen stable the following year, becoming the German car-maker’s leading driver.
In 2005, Jutta Kleinschmidt was Volkswagen’s best representative on the Dakar. While there was no real confrontation with the “Mitsus” of Peterhansel and Alphand, Kleinschmidt did remarkably well to defend her place on the podium as far as Dakar. This year, Volkswagen is present in Lisbon with a freshly reviewed and corrected version of the Race Touareg, this time designed to win. Kleinschmidt will be gripping the same steering wheel as Saby, Sainz and De Villiers, but the race circumstances will dictate how the next chapter in Dakar history will be written...