Spanish and Catalan 500cc 4-stroke Enduro Champion / 8th overall 8th 125cc Enduro World Championship Gold Medal ISDE Runner-up Enduro de las Autonomías
2000
Gold Medal ISDE (Junior Team Champion) 8th 500cc 4-stroke Enduro World Championship 5th 500cc 4-stroke Enduro Spanish Championship Champion Enduro de las Autonomías
2001
Gold Medal ISDE / 3rd overall 7th 500cc 4-stroke Enduro World Champion 3rd 500cc 4-stroke Enduro Spanish Championship / 8th overall Runner-up 4-stroke Indoor Enduro Barcelona
Retired in his first participation in the Barcelona-Dakar 6th in the Rally des Pharaons in Egypt 5th in the UAE Desert Challenge in Dubai
Biography
Born in Oliana 25 years ago, Jordi Durán made his first steps in the world of motorcycling thanks to his older brother, mountain bike rider. He got his first bike from his father, a big enthusiast, at the age of 14. It was a Puch Cóndor machine he squeezed until the last drop together with his brother, who joined him every weekend to ride around the hills. He enjoyed every single moment on the bike, so that in 1993 he decided to take part in a childrens enduro race, staged in his hometown. He won and with the support of his family, he decided to take it seriously. He took part in several provincial races in Lleida, until 1997 when he made the jump to the Catalan and Spanish 125cc Junior Championships. He took the title in his first participation astonishing all those who knew him and strangers, who saw in Jordi a firm promise for enduro racing. The same year he won the silver medal at the ISDE and became Junior Champion at the Enduro de las Autonomías. All of these achievements took him to become part of the National Team, and to make the jump to the World Championship the following year, where he finished seventh.
He regained the Catalan and Spanish Championship titles in 1999, this time in the senior class, he won the gold medal at the ISDE, he was runner-up at the Enduro de las Autonomías and eighth in the World Championship. He took part in all of the competitions in 2000 and his best result was the victory at the Enduro de las Autonomías. He kept on improving the following year in all championships he participated, adding the second place at the Indoor Enduro in Barcelona. But he fractured a finger of his hand in late 2002, being unable to take part in the indoor event and in one of the last races of the World Championship where he finished sixth overall. He took his best result in the World Championship the following year with a fifth place.
Jordi Durán was ready for bigger challenges and in 2004 he changed to raids. His first race was the Rally des Pharaons in Egypt and he faced it with big excitement. It was something completely different to all he had done so far, but the race was sadly marked by Richard Saincts death and the consequent retirement of all KTM riders as a sign of respect. It was precisely Jordi Durán who was the first rider to find Sainct after the accident, an experience that will remain in his memory for all his life. He had been faced with the hardest side of the raids, but instead of being afraid, the experience gave him the strength to move on and to try to make the best out of his career if possible.
2005 couldnt have a better start for Jordi Durán: he was participating for the first time in the Dakar and he was doing it in one of the best teams, the Repsol Red Bull KTM Junior Team. With no doubt a great chance to learn from more experimented riders and under the best possible conditions. However, things went off the rails during the fifth leg of the African rally -Agadir Smara-, still in Morocco, where he had a terrifying accident suffering multiple fractures. In serious condition, he was immediately taken to Barcelona, where he was successfully operated during more than twelve hours, to treat his fractures in the pelvis, sacrum, left femur, elbow, scaphoid and carpal. With the first feeling of having disappointed all those who had supported him in the huge project, Jordi even thought about giving up. The accident had affected the 25-year-old both physically and mentally, but thanks to the invaluable help of the doctor, his team and his family, Jordi recovered. Recovery was slow, and after one month and a half in hospital, the hardest part of the recovery process was yet to come, with his only thought being to get back on the bike as soon as possible. It wasnt until July when the doctors considered that the time had come, although the reunion was not as Jordi had expected. The seriousness of his injuries and the inactivity had affected his body and he knew that his way towards complete recovery had just started.
After nine months out of competition following the serious accident suffered in Dakar, forcing him to undergo surgery three times, Jordi Durán went back to action at the Rally des Pharaons in Egypt, where he surprised everybody with a great performance. The aim was clear: to re-adapt to the bike, to get the back the race pace and to practice navigation. Moreover, Duran made excellent team work in the last leg, handing his battery over to team-mate Giovanni Sala, who had previously given his to Marc Coma. With hardly any mistake, the young Spaniard was rewarded with the victory of the fourth leg and the overall sixth place in the Egypt Rally. Then came the last challenge, the UAE Desert Challenge, where he continued with his progression and team-work, largely contributing to Marc Comas success in the World Championship. In the first leg in Dubai, Coma had again problems with his battery and Duran fulfilled his task, helping him twice to reach the leg finish to be able to repair the bike and continue in the rally. Durán finished fifth, but the best was not the overall result but the security and confidence of being on the right path.
Jordi Durán will face the adventure of the Dakar again in 2006. Older and with a larger experience, this happy and hard-working young man will try to scare away the bad luck that has been following him so far.
On the personal side, Jordi Durán would not change his hometown in Lleida for anything in the world, a place he always gets back joyfully after travelling around the world. It is there where he enjoys being with his family, his girl-friend and his friend, leading a normal life. Just like any other young man at his age, he enjoys going out, movies and having fun. He loves radio-controlled cars and other sorts of gadgets, as well as the intrigue of a good movie or book. If he would not have been successful on the motorbike, Jordi Duran would have liked to be an airplane or helicopter pilot. His dream: getting on a fighter some day.
