N° 025 - TEAM PETROBRAS - LUBRAX
- DE AZEVEDO
- Jean
- BRA
- 19/02/1974
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A new challenge. While all the competitors will this year be taking off at the conquest of a new continent, Jean de Azevedo’s challenge will have an even bigger dimension: for his ninth appearance, the Brazilian, an experienced biker, will compete for the first time… in a car. An audacious bet, driven by the “necessity to find a new source of motivation”.
The Dakar on a bike no longer has secrets for the Sao Paulo native. Based on his eight appearances, he has “the feeling he has seen it all” with two Top 10 spots overall (5th in 2003; 7th in 2005), although his last performance (25th) “really disappointed him”: “I had an electric problem during the 7th stage”, he explains, “and I stayed 9 hours in the desert!”
For his first attempt in a car, the experienced Brazilian will have at his side a compatriot totally new to the Dakar, but not to the world of rallies. At 28 years of age, Youssef Haddad already has a fine record achieved on the roads of Brazil, which allows him to take on the toughest of all rallies “very relaxed and without apprehension. Our car has been well developed, not very fast but solid and reliable”. And the co-driver knows that he has a fine team mate at his side: “Jean is an excellent driver. He adapted very quickly to the car. He is really very talented”. While he apparently didn’t have too much trouble to switch from bike to car, the training was however slightly complicated: “In Brazil”, explains Jean, “we have no sand desert to train. But because I know the Atacama very well, I hope that we’ll manage something good”.
