N° 032 - TEAM OFF ROAD URUGUAY
- CARILLON
- Patrice
- FRA
- 16/06/1964
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Patrice Carillon : « One has to be very very humble
One shouldn’t count on Patrice Carillon to boast. This amateur could indeed do so looking at his results on the Dakar and his constant progression: 55th in 2003, 34th in 2005 after retiring from the 2004 edition, 29th in 2006 and 27th in 2007… “Last year, it wasn’t that good, he however insists. I had an assistance for the first time and I could have done a lot better”. That is if he hadn’t witnessed mechanical and physical problems: a damaged bike and a broken foot after “hitting a tree”. Not a problem, Patrice Carillon has witnessed quite some upsets. “In 2004, I almost had to have a finger from my right hand amputated after a crash”. Enough to calm him down? Not really… “Not at all. My hand was well repaired. In 2005 and 2006, it was tougher I could only use the accelerator with two fingers but now I no longer suffer”.
Patrice Carillon is first of all a competitor: “What I like about motocross is when you fight it out in a bend. I’m a crossman focused on competition. On the Dakar, it’s the same thing”. As a result to that he finished twice first of the bikers with no assistance in 2005 and 2006. Patrice Carillon is a one-of-a-kind in the world of amateurs for whom reaching the Lac Rose is a goal in itself. “I believe that all those who come to the Dakar are competitors. They all have something to prove to themselves and to others. Every evening they all go to see the leaderboard”.
Patrice Carillon’s goal this year: “To do better”. But he’s not aiming at a precise place overall. “For quite some years, I would be aiming at a position but never managed to reach it! This year, I have no objective”. Indeed if there is a lesson he has learnt just too well after 5 appearances, it’s that during a Dakar “one has to remain very very humble. It’s natural that a guy like David Casteu has a precise goal. But I’m not at his level although I’m an athlete”. David Casteu, a “very good friend” that Patrice Carillon managed to impress last year. “I finished only three minutes behind him on a special. On that day he came to see me and just couldn’t believe it!”
