the essential
R2J rally driver, Muretain Andy Panek, 28, and his co-driver Enzo Valleau, 22, won the French championship in the category.
He first worked on the Muret karting circuit, where he tried his hand at single-seater racing. Then he started pedaling hard on a mountain bike and won the longest descent in the world in Alpe d'Huez, “La Megavalanche”. That was in 2019. Since then, Andy Panek has given up cycling to become a rally driver.
“I have always been passionate about motorsport,” confides this 28-year-old Muretain. “It was just a question of budget to be able to get started… now I've been riding for four and a half years. »
But this peevish blonde with blue eyes didn't give up. “A year and a half ago, I found myself without a co-pilot,” he says, “by chance, I met Enzo Valleau, 22 years old. It was I who trained him. The two accomplices trained tirelessly on the FI simulators of DriverXperience, the car games room set up 7 years ago by Andy Panek, in Muret, boulevard de Joffrery.
“We spent a lot of time together, while combining business with pleasure on the simulators, where we can also drive in all weathers, which helps a lot. We don't have much opportunity in our area to ride in snowy weather! »
A title of 2024 French champions
photo A.P.
This year, with his new co-driver Enzo Valleau, 22 years old, Andy Panek on his Fiesta R2j has just been crowned 2024 French Rally Champion, in his R2J category (140 HP), “It was our first season together! We fought with the best drivers in France on the roads of Monte-Carlo in Nice,” he confesses, while greeting his partners who accompany him in his sporting adventure. “So, we have the ambition for January 2026 to have the budget to compete in the Monte-Carlo rally, I’m tempted to try something on a round of the world championship…”
“I’m less of an idiot on the roads!” »
Hothead Andy? “No, it takes a lot of rigor and work. I am a competitor. And since I started rallying, I'm less stupid on the roads! I’m much calmer on the road than before.” The only weakness is that “being a pilot requires having money to have more time to prepare better” (1). For the record, we will tell you that Andy Panek, when he worked on the Muret karting, gave his first laps to another young Muret prodigy. The young Romain Andriolo, who became an F3 driver this year. Like what…
(1) Andy is always looking for new sponsors. Tel 0 634 502 136
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