TAURUS

SD

• When he’s not in the right seat of a rally vehicle, Stephane Duplé is a truck and car instructor back home in the Pyrenees area of France. The ideal job to fulfill his other passion and partner drivers to that finish line of the toughest events in the world.
• He was first given the opportunity to come on the Dakar in 2015, some ten years ago, thanks to Yves Tartarin, a veteran of the off-road rally scene who saw in Duplé a bright future. That first Dakar experience ended at a 49^th
• After four Dakar rallies alongside Tartarin, the Frenchman had to wait until the Dakar moved to Saudi Arabia to return in a cockpit, this time in an SSV with Swiss driver Vincent Gonzalez. A year later Duplé had to focus on giving notes in English to Britain’s Liam Griffin (20^th overall in 2021) and then to young Aliyyah Koloc (33^rd in 2023).
• The 42-year-old first navigated Dania Akeel before the last Dakar and after a disappointing first experience on the world’s toughest rally due to several mechanical issues they carried on improving all along the season. Great performances that convince the Frenchman that they can battle for a Top 5 on the Dakar and dream of a podium.