Rally Dakar 2005

Repsol Drivers. Jean-Michel Polato
Career highlights 1991/1994: Truck Mechanic Assistance1993/1994: Kart Champion1994/1997: Co-driver of Bruno Gilles, André Jorigne, and Joël Pignon in Tunisia and Morocco rallies2000: Co-driver Mitsubishi Truck on Dakar RallyCo-driver of Pierre Lartigue Tunisia and Master Rallies2001: Co-driver for Carlos Sousa, fifth overall in Dakar RallyCo-driver Nicolas Misslin in Tunisia, Morocco, Spain Baja and UAE Desert Challenge2002: Co-driver for Nicolas Misslin, 10th place in Dakar Rally, Morocco, Portugal, Masters and Shamrock rallies2003: Co-driver Nicolas Misslin in Dakar, Italy, Tunisia (3rd place), Portugal, Morocco and Shamrock (Victory) rallies.2004: Co-driver for Nicolas Misslin in Dakar Rally  Jean-Michel Polato was born in 1971 and studied automotive mechanics at college in 1989, before moved on to take further qualifications in automotive bodywork painting the following year. He joined the French Team Le Clerc as a mechanic and body shop worker and worked for the operation between 1991 and 1997. After that seven-year spell he joined Würth as a technician and remains there to the present day, although his own motorsport career began in 1993, when he entered the world of kart racing. Jean-Michel spent two seasons in karting, in addition to working as a truck mechanic in cross-country rallying between 1991 and 1994. He co-drove the likes of French amateurs Bruno Gilles, André Jorigne and Joël Pignon in the Morocco Rally and co-drove a Mitsubishi truck on the Dakar. His first big break came when he teamed up with the former World Champion Pierre Lartigue in 2000 and then co-drove Carlos Sousa to fifth position in the 2001 Dakar. Polato then teamed up with Nicolas Misslin for the 2001 FIA World Cup and partnered the Marseilles driver for the 2002 and 2003 seasons. They finished 10th overall in the 2002 Dakar and third in Tunisia the following year in a factory-built Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero. He and Misslin retired from the 2004 Dakar Rally after a car fire.