ARNOULT Patrick FRA 28/06/1969 170 cm 72 kg

Vehicle

MODEL	MAKE
690 RALLYE	KTM

RANKING

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
Scratch	85	98	102	94	87	72	64	66	78	68	-	64	55	48
Stage	85	98	102	90	87	72	63	66	72	69	-	62	55	48	-	-
Overall	85	79	79	73	71	70	65	64	62	67	-	64	61	60	-	-

Patrick Arnoult : «We have to ride in a linear manner »

Many are the amateur rider who would be tickled with a 52nd place finish on their first Dakar. Yet, while Patrick Arnoult rode into Sharm-El-Sheik in 2003, having done just that, he wasn’t that pleased with such a performance. Setting off from Marseille with his two friends Pascal Vincent and Franck Libbrecht, he was the only one of the three to arrive in Egypt. And yet, these three restaurateurs and friends for 20 years promised to ride to the finish line together. Two years later, they finished together in 83rd, 84th and 85th place, after continually riding together while sharing some extraordinary moments in the desert, quite an accomplishment for these close friends who view the Dakar as a group adventure. They couldn’t manage a repeat performance in 2007 when Patrick, once again, went on to finish alone. But this year, they have something they believe will keep them together all the way to the end. “I gave each of them a St. Christopher medal that I was holding because I’ve had one for the past ten years and I finished every rally I’ve done.” In addition to this protection, Patrick will also ride a new KTM 690 in South America. “It’s heavy and powerful but is the bike to have for the Dakar. We just need to ride as close to each other as possible, especially on the sandy stages because, with a full tank, it’s a very hard bike to pick back up.” Patrick thinks of everything. He and his two buddies will continue to ride carefully: “We have to ride in a linear manner and maintain a prudent grasp on the throttle.”

Dakar start photos on line: www.maindruphoto.com

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