Dakar 2007

Repsol drivers. Gilles Picard
Sports career and biography
Frenchman Gilles Picard was born in France in March 1955 and has three children. He first began competing in enduro competition on a motorcycle back in 1973 and took part in numerous rallies on a motorcycle between 1973 and 1992 as a factory rider with Husqvarna, Cagiva and Yamaha. He then made the switch to co-driving and partnered both Hubert Auriol and Ari Vatanen in the factory Citroën team. Gilles then joined Mitsubishi and began a successful association with the French driver Jean-Pierre Fontenay. The pair won the UAE Desert Challenge in 1998 and took a maiden Dakar Rally triumph together the same year. In 2000, they finished third in the Dakar, Morocco and Por Las Pampas rallies and fourth in Dubai. Podium places followed in the 2003 Baja Italy and UAE Desert Challenge and an excellent second overall was the result of the 2003 Dakar program. When Fontenay retired from active competition after the 2003 Dakar, Gilles teamed up with Hiroshi Masuoka to take outright victory in the 2003 Baja Italy and second overall in the Dakar Rally in January 2004. He teamed up with Luc Alphand for the 2005 Dakar and finished second overall. The pair went on to win the Rally of Tunisia in April 2005 and the Baja Portalègre in Portugal in October of the same year. The pair were then triumphant in the 2006 Dakar Rally, which marked a second outright victory on the event for Picard with a gap of eight years between victories. He also navigated Alphand to victory in the Patagonia-Atacama Rally in March 2006 and to third place in the Transiberico event two months later.Career Highlights:1973: Participation in the French Bike Trial and Enduro Championship1973/1992: Took part in Cross-Country rallies in the bike class Official Husqvarna rider, before joining the Cagiva team with Hubert Auriol and then the factory Yamaha team with Stéphane Peterhansel1993-1996: Co-driver for Hubert Auriol and Finland’s Ari Vatanen as a member of the Citroën team1998:  1st overall in the UAE Desert Challenge with Jean-Pierre Fontenay 1st overall in the Dakar Rally with Jean-Pierre Fontenay1999: 1st overall in the Baja Italy with Kenjiro Shinozuka2000: 3rd overall in the Dakar Rally with Jean-Pierre Fontenay 3rd overall in the Rally of Morocco with Jean-Pierre Fontenay 3rd overall in the Por Las Pampas Rally with Jean-Pierre Fontenay 4th overall in the UAE Desert Challenge with Jean-Pierre Fontenay2002: 4th overall in the Dakar Rally with Jean-Pierre Fontenay 3rd overall in the Baja Italy with Kenjiro Shinozuka 2nd overall in the UAE Desert Challenge with Jean-Pierre Fontenay2003: 2nd overall in the Dakar Rally with Jean-Pierre Fontenay 1st overall in the Baja Italy with Hiroshi Masuoka2004: 2nd overall in the Dakar Rally with Hiroshi Masuoka 2005: 2nd overall in the Dakar Rally with Luc Alphand  1st overall in Rally of Tunisia with Luc Alphand 1st overall in the Baja Anta Da Serra 500-Portalegre with Luc Alphand2006: 1st overall in the Dakar Rally with Luc Alphand 1st overall in the Patagonia-Atacama Rally with Luc Alphand 3rd overall in the Transiberico Rally