Carpooling D. Giraudet: “Nothing can be left to chance anymore”

In issue 2250 of AUTOhebdo dedicated to the Guide WRC 2020, available in digital version and on the newsstands, Denis Giraudet invites you in his Lexus LS 200. The Japanese sedan is the souvenir of his co-pilot contract with Didier Auriol at Toyota at the end of the 1990 years.

“When Toyota decided to abandon the WRC for the F1, it was given to me by Ove Andersson (former driver, winner of the 1971 Monte-Carlo and founder of Toyota Team Europe, Ove died in South Africa in 2008 while participating in a rally history with his Volvo PV444. Editor’s note). I had a special bond with this man, whom I knew shortly after the death of my father.

Our relationship went far beyond that of boss and employee. This Lexus is my everyday car. It has 300 km on it and has never broken down. I'm not a lover of nice cars. For me to become attached, it is essential that a particular emotion exists. »

At 64, Denis Giraudet remembers the great moments of a career still in progress, including his first World Cup victory, not with Didier Auriol, but to the right of Juha Kankkunen. “At the beginning of 1993, Didier arrived at Toyota. He always rides with Bernard (Occelli. Editor’s note). He introduces me by saying that I am a co-pilot and that I know how to do everything. In Monte-Carlo, I am his usher, but Phil Short (at the time team manager of TTE. Editor’s note) entrusts me, in addition, with the implementation of the assistance plan.

In Argentina, Kankkunen's co-driver Juha Piironen suffers heart attack. He is replaced by Nicky Grist, who is not available for Finland. In between is New Zealand, where I supervise the organization of Toyota assistance. One fine morning, Ove asked me if I would agree to be Juha’s co-pilot in Finland. Did I hesitate for a second? »

The man with five WRC victories also lifted the veil on the precarious conditions his profession currently encounters. “Compared to the following generation, I was lucky to live through a time when the job of co-pilot was recognized and very well paid. I'm not wealthy, but that's enough for me.

In a team, the guy who makes the food is paid, the mechanics too, as well as the person who ensures communication. Motorsport is the only one in which the main actors, those who put on the show, not only are not always paid, but go so far as to go out of their own pockets. It's incredible !

Finally, Denis Giraudet, after 189 WRC starts, notes a revolution in the co-driver's working methods. « To be among the fastest, nothing can be left to chance or improvisation. In the past, the Thériers, Nicolas, Andersson, drove indifferently with ten different co-drivers. It would no longer be possible. Pilots must have complete confidence in what is going to be said, and the manner in which it will be pronounced. »