N° 041 - TEAM OPTOMA/HONDA EUROPE/DAKARSPORT

EXTANCE Michael GBR 07/05/1963

Vehicle

MODEL	MAKE
450	HONDA

Mick Extance: «I like it when the rally becomes a fight »

Each year, the Dakar offers a few surprises and Mick Extance learned the hard way in 2007. “I had to retire due to mechanical problems. I had one problem or penalty after another. I couldn’t fight. It was fate”, remembers this Man U fan.

Yet, the ambitions of this rider, often the highest placed Brit on the rally, were crushed. After dropping out in 2001, he put together a run of honourable showings, with a personal best 27th overall on the 2006 Dakar. On this new edition, he has three ambitions. “Go all the way to the end, of course, but also be the best placed Brit and, why not, finish in the top 20”

Mick is one of the rally’s rough and ready types, known for his resistance and capability to ride kilometre after kilometre without losing his lucidity. “I like it when the rally becomes a fight. The 2008 Dakar looks to be particularly tough with a lot of sand. I like riding in the dunes, that’s why I like Mauritania so much. This country incarnates the spirit of the Dakar”.

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