Jean-Luc Pailler: “In France and Europe, it is the clown who pays to be in the circus”

This is a beautiful car that you are presenting to us there!

Yes, it is. With my friends Bernard Tallandier and Michel Vigouroux, with whom I rode the 2CV Cross, we decided to go on a trip abroad. We started with the Andes Trophy (rally-raid across South America. Editor's note) in 2017. A journey of 15 km in 000 days where we were able to discover this part of the planet, from the Atacama Desert to the Uyuni Salar via the Iguaçu Falls and Machu Picchu . It was fantastic. I have very good memories of it since I met some great people there throughout the adventure. We then had the opportunity to do the Tour du Maroc in 45 and in 2018 the Bab el Raid (raid event between France, Spain and Morocco. Editor’s note) with Michel. We are now committed to meeting the Baby Boomers in Morocco at the end of the year (of the 16 25 2021 November. Editor’s note).

You're talking about the 2CV Cross, it's the discipline that opens the doors to motorsport for you, isn't it?

That's it ! With Michel Vigouroux, we started racing 2CV Cross cars in 1976, then we never stopped motorsport.

How did you get into this?

It doesn't come from my childhood. As an adult, having previously been a truck driver and living on my parents' farm, I found myself married and a bus driver, living in an apartment. So, the weekends were a bit of a struggle, we were quite bored. One day in 1975, I went to see a 2CV race. I didn't know much about mechanics. With my friends, we built a 2CV in 1976 and that's where it all started. Little by little, we progressed and won titles in the category. We then had the chance to go to rallycross thanks to the help of Citroën Brest who gave us a helping hand to prepare the first