N° 033 - TEAM DCA TRUST.COM

JOBARD Willy FRA 20/02/1961

Vehicle

MODEL	MAKE
EXC 450	KTM

In 2007, Willy Jobard had to stop just 16 kilometres away from happiness after a stage where he showed courage and self-sacrifice. On the eve of the finish, he indeed broke his arm after a bad fall but still battled his way through the last 100 kilometres of the special added to 200 kilometres of liaison “with only one arm”. The following day, the doctors told him not to start.

“You have to keeps things in perspective; he says with sincerity. In nine appearances, I finished the rally four times. I manage to do so again this year, which makes it 50-50”.

He knows the Dakar owes its success to its difficulty. “we come to suffer”, Willy admits. He refuses to give up. “If I don’t start, I feel bad. You have to do it to understand. You’re disconnected from your everyday life. We only leave for 15 days but its like if it lasted four months”. What is the hardest thing on a Dakar? “The length”, he says without hesitation. “Not only do you have to re-energise your passion everyday but also the physical as well as the mental.”

In 2009, he’ll take off on a 450 KTM. “A good compromise in order not to be too tired”, he believes. He can’t wait to; once again, experience the special atmosphere at the bivouac. “The Dakar makes differences disappear. There is no star system among the competitors. We’re all in the same adventure and it’s easy to speak with pros like Despres, Alphand or Peterhansel”. And that’s what attracts him most: the solidarity between the bikers. And for this solidarity not to have limits, he helps out Actions Dakar and asks his sponsors to do so as well.

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