Xavier Panseri: “To be a co-pilot, you have to do a little psychology”

Hello Xavier! I admit that I did not expect to see you in civilian clothes while we are at Rally from Morocco. Besides, your name is displayed on a Toyota Hilux from the Overdrive Racing team. Can you explain to me why you are taking me in this Toyota… stock?

I was initially engaged with a Polish gentleman driver. He had rented a Hilux from Overdrive Racing, the structure of Jean-Marc Fortin (see Interview. Ed.). We competed in the first special stages, but I felt that he was not enjoying it. I tried to find the words to encourage him, because he was achieving interesting times, while adopting a safe driving style. But he said to me: " I'm not having fun ».

To the point of no return?

On the morning of the third stage, he parked at the Toyota assistance service. There, he went to see Jean-Marc (Fortin) to tell him he was abandoning! I was shocked, because he hadn't warned me at all during the hundred or so road markers. I think he was stressed by the risk of getting injured, because he's the head of a big company. If the driver isn't in a good place mentally, it's better to stop the effort rather than force him, especially in a rally-raid. If something serious happens, I would have felt guilty. He went home, without really offering to accompany me. It was the first time that had happened to me. It just goes to show that I'm still discovering new facets after thirty years in the business!

Fortunately, you have had more pleasant experiences. It all started for you in the Jura, a different landscape from the deserts of the Dakar…

I was born in the Jura, but I spent my childhood and adolescence in the Doubs, where one of my uncles was an organizer of local rallies for the ASA Jura. He prepared the closed parks, the sound system