Joan Roma profile
The passion for competition and an almost indestructible will mark the character of a singular rider. Joan Roma, Nani for his friends, was born in Vic on February 17, 1972 and after a short visit on soccer grounds, where an impressive goalkeeper was lost, he discovered his love for motorbikes. He entered his first race forging a friends license, a very common sin among great champions. He won that race and since then he has recorded impressive results, although theres something missing on that list: the jewel of the crown, the Paris-Dakar. Roma has taken a place in the heart of many fans. He took over from Jordi Arcarons and the Dakar wouldnt be the same without him. With the passage of years, dash gives way to experience and Roma has turned into one of the biggest favourites for this editions victory.          Joan Roma is married and has two daughters. He achieved his first success in competition at the Spanish 125cc Junior Enduro Championship in 1991. His aggressiveness and physical condition didnt go unnoticed. From the very start, he began to gather honour positions at Enduro trophies and at his participations in the Six Days. From the first medal he got in 1993 until the first title, the European Senior championship, Roma began establishing himself as one of the most outstanding riders in the class and with the African competition becoming more and more popular, it was clear that he soon would reach the raids. It finally happened in 1996. He took part in his first Dakar, and despite not knowing anything about such a peculiar race; he clinched two stage victories, a real deed considering the level of his fellow riders. His way to become known at the African raids was certainly spectacular. Besides, he managed to achieve brilliant results at Enduro national and world championships. Fate was decided and from that moment on, Roma did not stop participating in high-level Enduro races, although African raids marked his sports career. He repeated his excellent performance in 1998, leading the race halfway the rally, though he didnt manage to finish. However he did not stop gathering extraordinary results such as a gold medal at the Six Days Enduro or second positions at the Egypt and Dubai Raids, and victories at the Baja de España and Italy. 2000 was the year of his international recognition. He finished the Dakar in seventeenth position, far behind the lead but he did it as a true moral winner, a fact that was publicly recognised by one of his biggest admirers, Hubert Auriol, Clerk of the course. Nani had won four stages of the race and he was leading it alone, having the victory in his hands. However the engine of his bike broke down, two days before the end of the race, after having crossed the whole African continent. It was a cruel deception and that victory could have certainly meant a total change in his sports career. From that moment on, Joan Roma clearly focussed his career on the most important races of the raid season, the most selected races of the Enduro championship and obviously the Dakar that had turned into the biggest objective of his sports career. It gave him trouble, again and again, but he had already proven that he was one of the most outstanding riders of the international off-road scene. He had fairly taken over from Arcarons and his aggressive style was joined by an overwhelming personality, not quite usual for a rider. Roma had become a dear rider, always accessible and ready to share his experience with fellow riders, such as Isidre Esteve and young Marc Coma, who with the time would become inseparable mates in the fight for the first great victory in Africa. A victory that is truly resisting itself since the big deception in 2000, when Nani had to spend a whole night in the desert waiting for the assistance truck. His aim was to reach Dakar no matter how, and it hasnt been possible; neither in 2001, 2002 nor in 2003. Several crashes and accidents have hindered Joan from achieving his great aim, sporting misfortunes that due to television have been experienced almost live by the whole world, giving his sports career an almost epic dimension. His fight against the desert has been suffered by several thousands of fans. However, the fact of not having been able to win the Dakar must not represent a spot on a really brilliant sports career: victories at the Rally Tunisia 2002 and the Baja Aragón, together with sporadic participations in some of the most outstanding races of the Spanish Enduro Championship. In 2003 he almost clinched the victory as well. He was fighting against Fabrizio Meoni and a crash, fracture included, took him to hospital. Nothing serious but he was out of the race. Since then, eleven months ago, Nani has been preparing himself thoroughly and it is only fair to acknowledge that the successful results have come one after the other: runner-up at the Baja Aragón, third place at the FIM Rally TT Cup, third place at the Rally Tunisia, third place at the Morocco Rally and victories in Sardinia and Egypt.With this record and these credentials, Joan Roma is one of the great and unquestionable favourites to clinch the victory of the 26th edition of the Dakar. He has prepared himself more intensively than ever and he will be arriving in France in perfect shape. He has a bike he knows perfectly well and he has two extraordinary teammates. Now everything is in his hands and well get the answer, hopefully a positive one, on January 18, 2004.