Euromilhões Lisboa - Dakar 2007 : Dakar

moto

Casteu: “I have the easy job”

First privateer winner of the Marathon category in the 2005 Dakar, with a 13th overall position, David Casteu was given a chance by the official KTM Gauloises team. Of course this rider from Nice seized it, raced a full season in 2005 and above all the 2006 Dakar where he fulfilled with honour his mission of support rider for Cyril Despres and Isidre Esteve: “I have to admit it is hard to do better: I stayed close to Cyril during the whole rally, I saved Isidre’s life when he had an accident, I finished 8th in the overall standing and I won a special”. This newcomer in the world of pros has kept demonstrating his performance during the whole season: “What I am the proudest of is my participation in eight races this year without withdrawing once. In the end, I finished second in the World Championship behind Marc Coma, but with no regrets. He is simply better than the rest”, says Casteu.
His excellent results this season naturally give ambitions to the rider with the greatest smile of the Dakar. His projects could actually be made easier to achieve thanks to his new and special status in the KTM Gauloises team this year. Neither a support rider for the major two candidates for victory, Cyril Despres and Isidre Esteve Pujol, nor a free rider, the rider from the French Riviera will be the team’s wild card, whose role will be to make sure a blue bike wins in Dakar. This position as an outsider perfectly fits the character of Casteu who is always relaxed but determined: “I have the easy job: nobody puts pressure on me because I am not considered a leader, and I have the possibility to make nice moves because I have proved that I am a reliable rider. For instance, if I get to lead the race, they will not ask me to wait for the others. If this is the case, I really would like to step on the podium. I know I am able to do it because the experience I gathered this year has been very useful”.

camion

Mardeev: More than just a henchman

Ilgizar Mardeev’s task is to help Vladimir Chagin win his sixth title, the eighth title for Kamaz. This is quite a surprising mission for a driver who finished 4th in 2004 and who has therefore proved his potential to reach the podium. But the recent domination of Kamaz is not necessarily easy to maintain. As Semyon Yaboubov, the Sports Manager of the brand says: “All teams have been preparing since February and there are about fifteen trucks that can win this rally”. Actually this competitive situation suits Mardeev quite well, as he is a real fighter. Ilgizar Mardeev, who has detailed knowledge of the workings of Kamaz and of the Dakar, also knows what to expect this year in the truck category where a true battle will rage between the major contenders. Kamaz does not intend to rest on its laurels and the Russian brand’s General Manager has once again a very clear goal: “We will do our utmost to win”, says Serguey Kogoghin. This objective is perfectly in line with the steady rise of Ilgizar Mardeev in the hierarchy.

Ilgizar Mardeev joined the Russian team about ten years ago. He first drove a technical assistance vehicle, later in 1996 started participating in the rally as mechanic, and between 1997 and 2003 as navigator. In 2004, Ilgizar drove for the first time in the race and arrived just short of the podium. This result shows the possibilities of this man who is now the second Kamaz driver, in the absence of Firdaus Kabirov who decided to take a year off the race. Ilgizar’s career with Kamaz makes him an essential element in the team as well as a top-level support rider to help Vladimir Chagin keep his title.

auto

Jean-Louis Schlesser: “I will be on the lookout”

He is a double winner of the Dakar, the first driver to triumph with a two-wheel drive vehicle and five-time winner of the FIA World Cup of Cross Country Rallies: so what makes Jean-Louis Schlesser keep racing? This 58-year-old former racetrack driver has practically won it all in the world of rallies. But the overwhelming domination of Mitsubishi on the Dakar frustrates him. A competitor to the core, a man of challenges, this former Williams F1 driver is not the type to concede defeat. And although this manufacturing craftsman is not necessarily able to compete on a level playing field with the official teams, he still manages to ruffle the feathers of top-drivers such as Peterhansel, Alphand or Sainz.
Since 2001, “Jean-Louis the menace” has been battling to compete with Mitsubishi since the emergence of the manufacturer in 2001. For instance, in the 2001 edition, although he was issued a penalty after some people helped him push his car in a neutral zone, “Schless” fought like a tiger to lead his two-wheel-drive buggy to the third position in the overall standing. In 2002, Jean-Louis Schlesser had to withdraw from the race in Morocco, but he still managed to round up the season with his fourth consecutive World Rally Raid Championship title!
For Schlesser, the last editions of the rally have ended with a withdrawal, except for his 3rd position in the overall standing in 2004. His more or less extended appearances on the rally have unfortunately given him a reputation of a “car-wrecker”, but have also served to leave no doubt about the potential of his buggies. Schlesser finally managed to reverse the trend in 2006 by taking three cars to the rally. With Thierry Magnaldi and Josep-Maria Servia behind the wheel of his two other machines, the leader of the pack reached Dakar with all his team mates and with a 6th position in the overall standing and even three special stage wins (Schlesser in Er Rachidia, Magnaldi in Zouerat and Nouakchott). Jena-Louis had not enjoyed such excitement since 2001.
Even if Peterhansel and Alphand are not loosing their sleep over this series, Schlesser’s ultimate goal is still to thumb his nose at the factory drivers this year, although his team can only afford to line up one car this year. Accompanied by Arnaud Debron as his co-driver, Jean-Louis believes “This has been a good season. We arrived 3rd at the Rally of Tunisia, 2nd in Morocco and 3rd in Dubai. Our results are getting better and better so I will play all my cars. Last year we proved the cars were competitive by winning three African stages. So I can clearly aim at victory in the overall standing this year. Anyway, I will be on the lookout”.

Wouter Rosegaar: “I made a deal with my school”

“Courage does not depend on age”, said Corneille in his famous play The Cid. And Wouter Rosegaar will not contradict this saying. Although this 24-year-old is not the youngest competitor of the rally, he is not an old hand either. He will be racing as co-driver of another Dutchman, Toni Van Deijne, in a Mitsubishi L200, for his second participation in a row in the rally, after finishing 34th in 2006.

This young Marketing student who also manages his own Internet communication company had to find the time to prepare for the rally, if he wanted to keep the trust of his team mate who is twenty years older than him. “I had to make a deal with my school to adapt my schedule”, he admits. This year, the two Dutchmen, supported by an assistance team of eight people, have set as their goal to cross the finish line on the 15th position. The Rosegaar-Deijne duo has already planned to race together again in the 2008 edition, regardless of the result this year. And maybe afterwards the youngest member of the team will be ready to become independent and drive his own car.

Eric Morin: “Twice as much this year”

Eric Morin and Marc-André Desneuf raced together on the 2005 Dakar. The two men achieved quite a good result at the time: 65th in the overall standing. In addition to their common passion for rally raids, Eric and Marc-André share their love for the African continent. In 2005, they already helped a school in Fatick, Senegal, providing all necessary school supplies (books, school stationary, etc.). They also financed the digging of a well. Marc-André Desneuf developed this particular relation to Africa at a very early age. This entrepreneur active in the sector of public works was born in Rennes, France, but lived in Senegal until his twentieth birthday. “I speak Wolof fluently and I grew up with Syndiely Wade (the daughter of Abdoulaye Wade, the President of Senegal), because our parents were friends. Besides, a large part of my family still lives in Senegal. And since the creation of the rally, I have not missed one single arrival in spite of the fact I returned to live in France a few years ago for professional matters”.

This year, Eric Morin and Marc-André Desneuf want to link their participation in the race to a humanitarian project once again: they will provide supplies for two schools and contribute to the construction of two wells in the region of Sokhone, in Senegal. And many people have followed their example: Crédit Agricole, one of their sponsors in the 2005 edition, is involved this year in a charity project, again in the region of Sokhone: this French bank will build a school with a cafeteria, and even a kitchen garden so the establishment can become self-sufficient.

Marc-André Desneuf will apply last year’s recipe for collecting funds for the project: “We organised a welcome back party after the race and we will repeat the experience this year. We hope to collect twice as much this year. We collected 450 euros last year and this year I want to reach the sum of 1,000 euros even if I have to add some money myself if necessary. Twice as much money, means we can provide twice as much help”.