Date of birth: 3/19/1955 Place of birth: Nancy – Lorraine – France Nationality: French
Sporting career
1973
Participation in the French Bike Trial and Enduro Championship 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 Peterhansel.
1974
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 Peterhansel.
1975
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 Peterhansel.
1976
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 Peterhansel.
1977
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 Peterhansel.
1978
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 Peterhansel.
1979
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 Peterhansel.
1980
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 Peterhansel.
1981
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 Peterhansel.
1982
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 Peterhansel.
1983
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 Peterhansel.
1984
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 Peterhansel.
1985
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 Peterhansel.
1986
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 Peterhansel.
1987
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 Peterhansel.
1988
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 Peterhansel.
1989
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 Peterhansel.
1990
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 Peterhansel.
1991
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 Peterhansel.
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 Peterhansel.
1993
Co-driver for Hubert Auriol and Finland’s Ari Vatanen as a member of the Citroën team
1994
Co-driver for Hubert Auriol and Finland’s Ari Vatanen as a member of the Citroën team
1995
Co-driver for Hubert Auriol and Finland’s Ari Vatanen as a member of the Citroën team
1996
Co-driver for Hubert Auriol and Finland’s Ari Vatanen as a member of the Citroën team
1998
1st overall in the Dakar Rally with Jean-Pierre Fontenay 1st overall in the UAE Desert Challenge with Jean-Pierre Fontenay
1999
1st overall in the Baja Italy with Kenjiro Shinozuka.
2000
3rd overall in the Dakar Rally with Jean-Pierre Fontenay 3rd overall in the Por Las Pampas Rally with Jean-Pierre Fontenay 3rd overall in the Rally of Morocco with Jean-Pierre Fontenay 4th overall in the UAE Desert Challenge with Jean-Pierre Fontenay
2002
2nd overall in the UAE Desert Challenge with Jean-Pierre Fontenay 3rd overall in the Baja Italy with Kenjiro Shinozuka 4th overall in the Dakar Rally with Jean-Pierre Fontenay
2003
2nd overall in the Dakar Rally with Jean-Pierre Fontenay 1st overall in the Baja Italy with Hiroshi Masuoka
2004
2nd overall in the Dakar Rally with Hiroshi Masuoka
2005
1st overall in Rally of Tunisia with Luc Alphand 1st overall in the Baja Anta Da Serra 500-Portalegre with Luc Alphand 2nd overall in the Dakar Rally with Luc Alphand
2006
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
2007
2nd, Dakar with Luc Alphand 4th, Rally Transiberico with Luc Alphand
Frenchman Gilles Picard was born in France in March 1955 and has three children. He first began competing in motorcycle Enduro events 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 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 triumph together the same year.
In 2000, they finished third on the Dakar, Morocco and Por Las Pampas rallies and fourth in Dubai. Podium places followed on the 2002 Italian Baja (3rd, with Kenjiro Shinozuka) and UAE Desert Challenge (2nd, with Fontenay) before he and Fontenay rounded off their partnership with second place on the 2003 Dakar.
When Fontenay retired from active competition after that event, Gilles teamed up with Hiroshi Masuoka to take outright victory on the 2003 Italian Baja and the pair then came second together on the 2004 Dakar.
For 2005, Gilles teamed up with Luc Alphand and scored his third consecutive runner-up finish with as many drivers on the Dakar. The pair went on to win April’s Rallye de Tunisie, then the Baja Portalegre in Portugal the following October.
In 2006, he navigated the former skiing champion to an outright win on the Dakar. It was his second success on the African marathon after his victory with Fontenay eight years previously. The same year saw him navigate Alphand to victory on the Patagonia-Atacama Rally in March 2006 and to third place on the Rally Transiberico two months later. Their season concluded with another win, this time on November’s UAE Desert Challenge.
Still alongside Alphand, Gilles was second once again on the 2007 Dakar Rally and was fourth on the Rally Transiberico Rally before taking the laurels on the Por Las Pampas/Patagonia-Atacama Rally during the summer.
In 2008 the pair Alphand-Picard won the Transiberico Rally held in May in Portugal, as well as participating in the two rounds christened with the name “Dakar Series”: the Central Europe Rally, in March, finishing in fourth position, and the PAX Rally, in September where they got a podium finish, third overall.
