A promising second take

Dakar 2020 | Stage 1 | Jeddah > Al Wajh
January 5 ^th 2020 - 09:11 [GMT + 3]

Last year, Jean-Rémy Bergouhne's first taste of the Dakar, racing in the SSV category, was cut short. Now competing alongside Jean Brucy, he has since gained experience and is heading into this year's edition with completely different prospects.

Jean-Rémy Bergouhne really put the pedal to the metal with his decision to take the plunge in the world of rally raids. Less than three years ago, the idea of entering the Dakar had already taken root in the mind of this entrepreneur from the French department of Aveyron. The first taste of desert, which he got during a training camp in Morocco in 2018, only whetted his appetite for more. In fact, after having to withdraw from the SSV category in stage 3 of the Peruvian Dakar, he bounced back with a solid ninth place in the Merzouga Rally. It was a performance that caught the attention of team captain Mathieu Serradori, who offered Jean-Rémy a buggy for the Silk Way Rally: "I did wonder whether he was out of his mind, but I said 'yes' because it was a show of confidence on his part. We finished ninth". On top of a high-performance buggy, he netted a world-class navigator in the shape of Jean Brucy, who finished fourth in the Dakar twice (2000 and 2003) in his previous career as a biker. Everything seems to have fallen into place for Bergouhne's second take, as he now has what it takes to make amends for last year. "Cracking the top 30 would be brilliant, nay, awesome, but we don't want to start laying out our ambitions because then the exact opposite might happen. So we're going to take things step by step. Our approach is modest yet determined". A sensible motto that could take them far… and to the highest level