Jose Megre

1963 – 1966 - Graduation in Automobile Engineering – in London – England

1967 – 1970 - Army Service in Angola as a lieutenant of the Portuguese Special Forces (12nd Company of Comandos)

1970 – 2002 - Worked on the Automobile Industry as Technical Manager, Member of the Board of Directors, and Consultant for the Portuguese Importer of Nissan (20 years), Renault Trucks (3 years), and finally Porsche (9 years). Various specialized training courses in Japan and in the USA

From 1955 - Travelled all over the world, specially by car

1960 – 1975 - Race car driver

1970-1980 – Race / Rally car Development Engineer

1975 – 1977 - Rally driver (3 WRC Events)

1976-1978 - Author and presentator of a 30 minute weekly Tv programme named “Ida e Volta” , related to cars and transports in general, for RTP1 (National TV network), during two and a half years

Race / Rally car Development Engineer from 1970-1980

1981 – 1992 - Cross Country Rally Driver (Paris - Dakar, Paris - Capetown, Paris - Beijing, Egypt, Baja Spain, etc.)

Writer and publisher of three books about Paris – Dakar Rally, and his world travels

1982 - Co-founder and associate No. 1 of Clube Todo-o-Terreno (first Cross Country Club in Portugal)

From 1984 - President, associate No.1 and co-founder of Clube Aventura, which in present, organises the Raid Transportugal (a cross country touristic event) which started in 1986 and now runs two times a year, sponsored by Accenture since 1997, and recently with Oracle as co-sponsor. See site Raid Transportugal: www.raidtransportugal.com

Since 1982 organiser of several Cross Country events for cars and motorbikes

Creator and Organiser of the first Cross Country turistic and competition events in Portugal, among them, the International Baja Portalegre (1987) and Baja Portugal (1988), Vodafone 1000 and Rally Transibérico (2005), and 24 Hours, 6 Hours, and 3 Hours on a closed cross country circuit on the town of Fronteira (from 1998) and finally the Raid Transportugal from 1986, the first big event of Clube Aventura

Creator and Organiser of Transcontinental Motor Car (4x4) Expeditions in Europe, Africa, Asia and Americas, each with a minimum of 15.000 km, namely:

Lisboa – Bissau (1990, 1992)
Bissau – Lisboa (Patrol Ténéré 1991)
Lisboa – Capetown (1992, 1997)
New York – Los Angeles (TansAmérica 1993)
South America (1993, 1994 Terrano II Sul América)
Lisboa – Katmandu – Goa (Nissan – Caminhos da Ásia, 1996)
Guatemala – Panamá (1996)
Caracas – Rio de Janeiro (1996)
Ushuhaia – Buenos Aires (1997)
Bombaim – Butão – Nepal – Tibete (Terrano II Tibete, 2001)
Oklahoma city Seattle (2001)
Vancouver – Quebéc (Transcanada 2001)
Lisboa – Líbia (Tripoli – Ghat) – Lisboa (2006)
Lisboa – Nouakchott – Lisboa (2006)
Lisboa – Maputo (2007)
Soudi Arábia – North - South (2 itineraries) 2007, 2008

Among inumerous other trips of 3.000 - 5.000 km, including around 50 one week trips, in 4x4 on the Morocco desert. Additionally:

Emirates and Oman
Abidjan – Cotonou (Benin)
Beirut - Damascus – Amman – Aqaba
Armenia – Georgia e Azerbaijan
Uganda – Rwanda – Burundi
Kenya – Tanzania
Alice – Darwin – Sydney (Austrália)

With these and all the trips in each country, many of them several times, he drove over 930.000 Km outside Portugal

2002-2005 Organiser of a one-make Trophy in circuit races with classic (1970) car Datsun 1200 (over 100 competitors) – Troféu Datsun

In 2006 sold his Company Organizações Aventura to ACP – (Automóvel Club de Portugal), now being a Consultant to the organization. Through this agreement – Baja Portalegre, Rali Transiberico, 24 Hours of Fronteira – now organised by Automóvel Club of Portugal.

THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE

At present he is concentrated on travelling, trying to visit all countries of the world, (only 2 missing as of July 15 – 2008: Iraq and Haiti) and writing his 4th Book which he hopes to launch in one year. He is also developing, his herited property in the small village of Águas, Penamacor, in the province of Beira Baixa, 250 Km northeast of Lisbon, where he established two cross country circuits, of 10 km each, and an exhibition of his collection of toys and miniatures, as well as the cars and motorbikes of his life among other objects

An old olive oil factory, who was used and built by his ancestors now full of traditional farming equipment and machinery of the past 100 years, is the place where he is preparing the exhibition of his collection, which he might open to the public before on September 2008

PRIZES, AWARDS AND MEDALS

War Cross – Military Medal

Alfredo César Torres Prize (Portuguese Automobile Federation)

Personalty of the 20th Century – from the Portuguese Sports Confederation proposed by the Cross Country Federation

Personality of the Year 2006 – from the Sports Federation proposed by Portuguese Automobile Federation

Troféu Rodas de Prata (Silver Wheels Trophy) – from ACAP (Portuguese Association of Automobile Commerce)

Autosport Magazine Trophy 2003 (Portugal)