Dakar Portraits - Jean-Pierre Strugo - #Dakar2024

  • il y a 8 mois
The fifth edition of the Dakar in Saudi Arabia promises to push man and machine harder than any of the previous ones.
More information:
https://www.dakar.com
https://www.facebook.com/Dakar
https://www.twitter.com/Dakar
https://www.instagram.com/DakarRally
#Dakar2024

© Amaury Sport Organisation - https://www.aso.fr

Category

🥇
Sports
Transcript
00:00 (dramatic music)
00:02 (speaking in foreign language)
00:06 - Passion.
00:06 Passion and sharing, and going beyond oneself.
00:09 When we start, it's to get to the finish.
00:13 Back then, the Dakar started from Place de la Concorde
00:19 in Paris, and that's where I had my offices,
00:21 so they would come to tease me.
00:23 And two or three years later, it happened.
00:29 - The first experience in 1985 for the veteran
00:32 of the Dakar, Jean-Pierre Strugo,
00:35 the first of a very long series.
00:37 - It was the unknown.
00:44 It was adventure.
00:45 The fulfillment of one or two years of preparation.
00:48 Thankfully, I still have very strong memories.
00:51 It was total nonsense.
00:55 Everything was completely improvised,
00:58 and that was the strength of founder Thierry Sabine.
01:00 He would take a bunch of adventurers, of friends,
01:04 and we didn't know what to expect.
01:06 I have a thought for those who come for the first time.
01:18 There's so much to see.
01:20 Even for the 80th time, it's beautiful.
01:22 For some, they're cured after the first attempt.
01:27 It wasn't the case for me.
01:28 I didn't finish the first, or the second,
01:30 or the third, or the fourth,
01:32 so I needed a big dose of perseverance.
01:35 - He's seen it all in Africa, South America,
01:38 and Saudi Arabia as the Dakar evolved.
01:41 - What happens here is amazing.
01:44 It's competition at 100%.
01:46 It's only competition.
01:48 And it's the opportunity to compete
01:50 with the likes of Leu, Peter Hansel, Nasser.
01:53 It's like if today an amateur could compete in Formula 1.
01:56 - 33 years after, Strugo is still here,
01:59 and being 77 doesn't seem to be an issue.
02:02 - It's easier.
02:04 It's easier because I have experience,
02:06 and my driving is therefore based on the car,
02:08 on my physical condition, on terrain.
02:11 It also forces me during the whole year to stay in shape.
02:15 Sometimes I tell myself, "Don't focus on the standings.
02:21 "Just do it for the pleasure.
02:22 "Drive, enjoy the moment."
02:24 Just do it for the pleasure.
02:26 Drive as you can to eventually help the mates.
02:29 But at the finish of every stage,
02:30 I look at the standings to see my performance.
02:33 This will be my last.
02:40 It's my last year.
02:41 Two years ago was also my last.
02:43 I will carry on until I find the antidote.
02:47 Just as long as I have the passion physically can,
02:49 there's no reason to stop.
02:50 (gentle music)
02:53 (logo chiming)
02:56 (logo whooshing)
02:59 (whooshing)
03:01 [BLANK_AUDIO]