What is your role at Team Peugeot Hansen?
I’m in charge of the team’s operational logistics, which basically involves making sure all the equipment gets to the races on time and that the team has everything it needs to set up. I also look after fitting out the hospitality facility, setting up the barriers to keep spectators at a safe distance and the stores. You need to be able to turn your hand to anything and everything.
Is this your only job at Peugeot Sport?
No. My time is split between my rallycross duties and cross-country rallying, so I’m quite busy, especially as the Dakar and the Silk Way Rally take up around two-and-a-half months of my year on the events themselves. And that doesn’t include the time preparing the service vehicles I look after. It’s very time-consuming, especially as you need to dial in the sort of misadventures that can occur on the sort of inhospitable terrain that cross-country rallying visits. You need to plan ahead as much as you can and be ready for the unexpected. Not only did I follow the Silk Way Rally from start to finish but I also had to get all the gear back from China afterwards. I travelled something like 24,000km over the summer. That’s more than halfway around the world! And the rough roads of Kazakhstan aren’t my idea of a restful drive!
Is there a particular career path for your line of work?
Not really. You need to have a passion for it, though, otherwise you won’t last long in the job. You also need to be fluent in English and be capable of thinking on your feet. I have always been interested in logistical planning and I started working in the world of motorsport in cross-country rallying in 2003. I have worked for several teams in the discipline, as well as in endurance racing, and I got to discover rallycross this season. It’s strange because the cars spend less time competing but the work is very intense. You need to able to respond to situations at the drop of a hat, and the atmosphere is very different. The fatigue factor is less important, though, and the Franco-Swedish aspect of the team makes it very different from the Franco-French operations I have been accustomed to until now.
Is preparing for Lohéac more complex than for other rounds?
Yes, because it comes after Canada in the calendar. We only recover our gear a week before Lohéac and there’s so much to do: you need to pick up the freight in Rotterdam, spend time at the factory to refettle the cars after Trois Rivières, and then get them to Lohéac. On top of that, Lohéac is a rallycross Mecca that always attracts a big crowd, so you need to prepare meticulously upstream. Then, after the race, we have to take the cars to Sweden!