Date of birth: 8/6/1965 Place of birth: Briançon – Provence – France Nationality: French
Sporting career
1983
World Junior Champion in the Downhill at Sestrieres
1994
Member of the French alpine skiing team 7th overall at the Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Downhill and Super-G First career win at Val d’Isère
1995
Member of the French alpine skiing team Ranked number one in the world in Men’s Downhill
1996
Bronze medallist at the World Championships Member of the French alpine skiing team Ranked number one in the world in Men’s Downhill
1997
Member of the French alpine skiing team Number 1 in the World ranking List, Downhill and Super-G Winner of the Alpine skiing World Cup
1998
Winner of the Pro US tour, Downhill competition First participation in the Dakar Rally
1999
Winner of the Pro US tour, Downhill competition Winner of the T1 category in the Dakar Rally
2002
7th overall in the Dakar Rally Competes in the 24 Hours of Le Mans Winner of the T1 Diesel category with a Mitsubishi Pajero*
2003
9th overall in the Dakar Rally. Winner of the category Proto Diesel 1st overall in the Baja Spain and Baja Germany Competes in the 24 Hours of Le Mans
2004
16th overall in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Porsche GT3RS 4th overall in the Dakar Rally. Winner of two stages with BMW Joins the Mitsubishi factory team for the 2005 Dakar Rally
2005
1st overall in Baja Anta Da Serra 500-Portalegre 1st overall in Rally of Tunisia 2nd overall in Dakar Rally
2006
1st overall in Dakar Rally 1st overall in Patagonia-Atacama Rally 3rd overall in Transiberico Rally
2007
2nd Rally Dakar 1st Rallye Por las Pampas/Patagonia-Atacama 4th Rallye Transibérico
2008
4th Central Europe Rally 1st Rally Transiberico Baja Aragón (retired) 3rd PAX Rally
Biography
Luc ‘Lucho’ Alphand was born in Briançon, France, in August 1965 and currently lives in Serre-Chevalier. In the 1980s and 1990s he became one of the world’s most famous downhill skiers of all time, taking 12 Downhill and Super-G World Cup victories and being crowned Champion of France on seven occasions.
Twice a winner of the Pro US Tour and ranked the world’s number one skier, ‘Lucho’ switched to four-wheel cross-country rallying in 1998, when he contested the Dakar for the first time. The following season saw him win the T1 category and, in 2002, he finished seventh overall and claimed the T1 diesel category in a Mitsubishi Pajero* before going on take part in the Le Mans 24 Hours later that year.
In 2003, he finished ninth overall on the Dakar Rally and this time won the Proto Diesel category. The same year also saw him score outright wins on the German and Spanish Bajas. In January 2004, he entered the record books by posting the first overall stage time on the Dakar with a diesel-powered car and ultimately finished fourth with co-driver Henri Magne.
Alphand joined the Mitsubishi team in the summer of 2004. After working on the Mitsubishi Pajero* Evolution’s test and development programme, he flew the teams colours for the first time on the 2005 Dakar at the end of which he secured second place. Three months later he took his maiden FIA World Cup win with Mitsubishi in Tunisia, following that up with another success on Portugal’s Baja Portalegre in October the same year.
Months later, he fulfilled his dream of winning the Dakar when he steered his revised MPR12 version of the Pajero* Evolution to Mitsubishi’s sixth consecutive victory on the African marathon in January 2006. A little more than two months later he won the Patagonia-Atacama Rally in South America but rolled out of contention in Tunisia in April (suffering a minor hand injury in the process) before coming third overall on the Rally Transiberico in May.
During the summer months he worked on Mitsubishi’s test and development program with the latest MPR13 version of the Pajero* Evolution. His efforts were rewarded with outright victory on the 2006 UAE Desert Challenge in November and second place on the following January’s Dakar. The 2007 season saw him take fourth on the Rally Transiberico which he followed up with a victory on South America’s Por las Pampas/Patagonia-Atacama Rally.
In 2008 after the cancellation of the Dakar Alphand has done some intense work alongside his teammates in the Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Team developing the Mitsubishi Racing Lancer, the new turbo-charged diesel car that will be fighting to continue the good run that the team has had in the Dakar. During the 2008 season the Repsol driver has won the Rally Transiberico, as well as participating in the Dakar Series, finishing fourth in the Central Europe Rally, and third in the PAX Rally in Portugal. In the summer he also raced in the Baja España Aragón, but a mechanical problem left him out of the final battle for the victory.
