Jean-Claude Olivier (28 February 1945 – 12 January 2013), often referred to simply as "JCO", was a French motorcycle racer and president of Yamaha Motor France S.A. from 1992 to 2010. He helped launch the careers of many famous French riders including

Patrick Pons Patrick Noël Raymond Pons (24 December 1952 in Paris - 10 August 1980) was a French professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. His best year was in 1974 when he finished in third place in the 250cc and the 350cc world championships. Pons ...

Christian Sarron Christian Sarron (born 27 March 1955 in Clermont-Ferrand, France) is a French former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. __TOC__ Motorcycle racing career He began his career on a Kawasaki when he met French Grand Prix racer Patrick Pons. Pons h ...

and

Stéphane Peterhansel Stéphane Peterhansel (born 6 August 1965) is a rally driver from France. He holds the record for wins at the Dakar Rally, with 14 victories. He currently drives for Team Audi Sport. Biography Peterhansel made his Paris to Dakar Rally debut in ...

. He was a veteran of nine editions of the

Dakar Rally The Dakar Rally () or simply "The Dakar" (), formerly known as the Paris–Dakar Rally (), is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). It is an off-road endurance event traversing terrain much tougher than convent ...

, placing second in the motorcycle category in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

Career

Employment at Sonauto

Olivier's father Gonzague had enjoyed a successful career racing

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Th ...

sportscars during the 1950s, and became great friends with regular co-driver

Auguste Veuillet Auguste Veuillet (3 July 1910 – 10 October 1980), known as Toto Veuillet, was a French racing driver and founder of Sonauto, France's first importer of Porsche cars and Yamaha Motor Company, Yamaha motorcycles. He drove Porsche's first 24 Hour ...

. Veuillet had founded the company Sonauto in 1947 and went on to become the first major importer of Porsche road cars to France. Jean-Claude Olivier joined the company in 1965 after his father recommended him to Veuillet for a position, and he was tasked with establishing Sonauto as France's first

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: People * Torakusu Yamaha, a Japanese businessman and founder of the Yamaha Corporation Companies * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese musical instrument and audio equipment manufacturer ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organi ...

motorcycle importer. He drove a van around France with a selection of motorcycles in the back, which he demonstrated to potential stockists, and soon established a network of Yamaha dealers. His business connections enabled him to organise a photo shoot with

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a French former actress, singer, and model as well as an animal rights activist. Famous for portraying characters with Hedonism, hedonistic life ...

riding a

Yamaha AT1 Yamaha AT1 The Yamaha AT1 is a single cylinder enduro motorcycle produced by Yamaha Motor Company is a Japanese mobility manufacturer that produces motorcycles, motorboats, outboard motors, and other motorized products. The company was estab ...

in 1971, gaining much publicity for the brand. In addition, Olivier oversaw Sonauto's participation in

Grand Prix motorcycle racing Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...

, where it was active between

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

and

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

. The team won the 250cc championship in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and took a premier-class race victory in

with their longtime rider

. The Yamaha VMAX, introduced in 1985, was originally designated solely for the North American Market. However, Olivier immediately recognised the potential popularity of a powerful

naked bike In the market, there is a wide variety of types of motorcycles, each with unique characteristics and features. Models vary according to the specific needs of each user, such as ''standard'', ''cruiser'', ''touring'', ''sports'', ''off-road'', '' ...

in Europe and arranged for it to be homologated for the Continent. To drum up interest, he convinced a friend to spend the summer cruising on a VMAX around fashionable locations across the South of France and, by the end of this campaign, 30 orders had already been placed. The bike was made available in France in 1986 and, by the end of the 1990s, sales in France were higher than in North America.

Rally raid career

Olivier's racing experience includes participations in the Bol d'Or at

Montlhéry Montlhéry () is a Communes of France, commune in the Essonne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located from Paris. History Montlhéry lay on the strategically important road from Paris to Orléans. U ...

in 1969 and 1970. His first cross-country rally was the 1977

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Sonauto brought four

Yamaha XT500 The Yamaha XT500 is a twin-valve single-cylinder enduro-adventure motorcycle made by Yamaha from 1975 until 1989. It shares its power plant with the street version SR500 and its off-road brother, the Yamaha TT500. All parts such as the transmi ...

s to the inaugural

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, to be ridden by Gilles Comte,

Christian Rayer Christian Rayer (born 14 December 1945) is professional motorbike rider who also runs enterprises. Accomplishments Six times champion of France in the Trial International, he participated in the creation of the first competition Trial bike, the ...

, Rudy Potisek and Olivier. Between them, the riders won 7 of the 11 stages in the motorcycle category and placed second and eighth overall with Comte and Rayer respectively. Olivier himself won the final leg of the third stage and won the fourth stage, but collided with the

Range Rover The Land Rover Range Rover, generally shortened to Range Rover, is a Sport utility vehicle, 4x4 Luxury car, luxury SUV produced by Land Rover, a marque and sub-brand of Jaguar Land Rover, owned by Tata Motors. The Range Rover line was launched ...

of Christophe Neveu in the following special stage. He fractured his wrist and was forced to withdraw from the event. Yamaha's Dakar Rally wins in 1979 and

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

were followed by a lean period. For

, Olivier and Sonauto aided in the development of the Yamaha XT600 Ténéré, named after the region of the Sahara. This was a production motorcycle but featured upgrades that made it more suited to rally competitions. For

, Sonauto helped the brand produce their first prototype motorcycle built specifically for the event, a modified version of the XT600 Ténéré. Olivier led a 2-3-4 finish in the motorcycle category. Later that year, he took part in the Pharaohs Rally but suffered a fall and fractured several bones. Despite their upturn in form, Olivier felt that Yamaha needed a more powerful engine to remain competitive, with average speeds increasing every year. He lobbied the managers of Yamaha Japan to develop a more potent two-cylinder engine but was unsuccessful. At the same time, the brand's new four-cylinder FZ750 motorcycle was proving both powerful and reliable. Undeterred, Olivier obtained an FZ750 engine and fitted it to an XT600 frame, creating a prototype known as the Yamaha FZ750 Ténéré. The model was promising in testing and Olivier gained full support from the factory to develop it. The motorcycle boasted 94 bhp, considerably more than their competitors, but weighed a hefty 197 kg and struggled for traction on sand. This negated its competitive edge and Olivier only managed 12th in the

1986 Dakar Rally The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal ent ...

. For

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

, Olivier brought

André Malherbe André Malherbe (21 March 1956 – 24 November 2022) was a Belgian professional Grand Prix motocross racer. He competed in the Motocross World Championships from 1975 to 1986, most prominently as a member of the Honda factory racing team where he ...

, a three-time Motocross World Champion, and young rider

to the rally, but this edition proved tough. Malherbe suffered a serious accident that broke his neck and left him paralysed. Olivier was the first to come across the scene of the accident. He stopped to give first aid, and attracted the attention of the rescue crew by setting fire to Malherbe's motorcycle. He only left the scene to continue his own rally at Malherbe's urging. Olivier himself fell and broke his arm later in the rally, but continued to ride and finished the event 7th overall. This performance served as inspiration for Peterhansel:

"...(The rally) was not easy but after (Olivier finished) I said, Mr. Olivier is really a strong man, not only with his speed when riding but also (mentally) because to finish the Dakar like that with an arm broken, for me it was not possible. It was during my first Dakar so I was really impressed about his (ability); he was really strong, never (gave up) and was always (pushing his physical limits)."

Olivier also competed 25 times in the , an

Enduro Enduro is a form of motorcycle sport run on extended cross-country, off-road courses. Enduro consists of many different obstacles and challenges. The main type of enduro event, and the format to which the World Enduro Championship is run, is ...

competition held on the beach and sand dunes in

Le Touquet Le Touquet-Paris-Plage (, Picard language, Picard: ''Ech Toutchet-Paris-Plache''), commonly referred to as Le Touquet (), is a Communes of France, commune near Étaples, in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, northern France. ...

. The event typically features up to 1000 starters, but he managed to finish in the top 20 on 15 occasions and recorded a best result of second.

President of Yamaha France

In 1992, Yamaha ended their association with Sonauto and promoted Olivier to president of Yamaha Motor France S.A., a role he held until he retired in 2010. He oversaw Yamaha's most successful era in the Dakar Rally, winning the event every year under his tenure (except

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

) until the brand decided not to continue following the 1998 event. He was instrumental in convincing Yamaha to return to Dakar in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, when took three stage wins and placed 7th in the final classification. Since then, the brand has been entered to every edition as of 2023.

Death

Olivier died in a traffic accident on 12 January 2013. He was driving on the A1 in

Wancourt Wancourt () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France about southeast of Arras. Population See also *Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department The following is a list of the 887 communes of the ...

when, at 11:15 a.m., his car was hit head-on by a heavy goods vehicle which had wandered into his lane, killing him instantly. His daughter, who was in the car with him at the time, escaped with only minor injuries. At the time of his death, Yamaha were leading the motorcycle classification in the

2013 Dakar Rally The 2013 Dakar Rally was the 35th running of the event and the fifth successive year that the event was held in South America. The event started in Lima, Peru on 5 January and finished in Santiago, Chile on 19 January after fourteen stages of co ...

Racing record

Dakar Rally

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olivier, Jean-Claude 1945 births 2013 deaths Enduro riders French motorcycle racers Dakar Rally motorcyclists Off-road motorcycle racers