“This is just the initial stage”
Crew facts
J.J.
- Growing up in a family that loves automotives, Julian Johan quickly found his passion in offroad cars and racing. His father, Ismail was an Indonesian rally championship driver who competed in the World Rally Championship (WRC) in the 90’s.
- His journey in motorsports immediately started with offroad racing, winning numerous races on his local scene in Indonesia.
- Passionate about multimedia and having achieved a Multimedia Design major at University, Julian isn’t just a driver, he has become a very popular influencer known as Jejelogy. With over 576k followers on Youtube and well over 200k followers on Instagram, Julian travels the world to test cars and discover amazing routes.
- His knowledge and experience in the 4x4 and offroad industry has made many brands interested in collaborating further. Such as asking for input on vehicle products, discussions on future products, and other collaborations.
- Based on all his previous experiences, he now takes on an even bigger challenge: to compete in the Dakar Classic. Come January, the 39-year-old will be behind the steering wheel of a Toyota Land Cruiser that he knows by heart and will have at his side, Mathieu Monplaisi as his co-driver. He won’t however be the first Indonesian to take part in the Dakar.
Ambition
J.J.: “It still feels like a dream. Every year, for as long as I can remember, I’ve watched my racing idols in Dakar announce their starting numbers for this most extreme race. Now, I have the fortune and opportunity to experience being in that position as well.
Actually, Dakar isn’t a race where you need a long career path or a lot of prior experience. It’s not like Formula 1, where your progression has to be step by step before you can move up to a higher class. Here, as long as you have the willingness, the courage, and the financial means, you can take part. This is just the initial stage, to inform people that I will be competing in this event. But when the time comes and people eventually find out that I’m not the first Indonesian to take part, I want to say that I aim to being the first Indonesian to finish this event.”
