Philippe Boutron, French Sodicars driver on the 2022 Dakar Rally (automotive category), suffered a leg injury on Thursday, December 30, when his car exploded near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The organizer of the Dakar, Amaury Sport Organization (ASO), reveals it this Saturday, January 1. The pilot was operated on and must be repatriated to France. ASO does not exclude a ” malicious act “.
The 44th edition of the Dakar Rally, which takes place in Saudi Arabia and whose prologue began on Saturday January 1 before the first stage on Sunday January 2, was marked by an incident that occurred on Thursday December 30. The organizer ASO communicated, on January 1, about an explosion in which a French pilot, Philippe Boutron, was seriously injured in a leg. France Info relates the facts, confirmed by David Castera, the race director.
According to information from David Castera and France Info, Philippe Boutron, entered with the Sodicars team, was injured when his vehicle had to go through pre-race technical checks: an explosion occurred ” under the vehicle, not at the engine », Indicates France Info. The incident took place in Jeddah, the city where the first stage started.
” The driver of the car sustained a serious leg injury and required surgery. His condition is improving (…). His vehicle had been brutally stopped by a sudden explosion, the origin of which is still unknown at this stage. ASO said in its press release. The organizer continues: ” Saudi police immediately attended and began their investigation, ruling out any possibility, including that of a malicious act. Five other people were on board but were not injured.
According to Agence France Presse, security has been greatly enhanced around the Dakar Rally bivouac.
At the microphone of FranceTV Sport (the Sports department of our colleagues from France Info), David Castera declares: “ A Team Sodicars assistance vehicle, leaving the hotel, was suddenly immobilized, surely an explosion, and the vehicle caught fire. (…) Philippe Boutron has a very serious injury to his leg. He was operated on today (Saturday), he is better and he should return to France in the next few days. We are obviously thinking of him at the moment. “
The director of the Dakar specifies that the Saudi authorities ” conduct a very thorough investigation “And that, for the time being,” one cannot exclude a malicious act “, Hence this decision” greatly increase security measures on the rally “.
On the evening of Saturday, the Foreign Ministry called for the ” maximum vigilance “Emphasizing that” the hypothesis of a criminal act is not ruled out “. ” The terrorist threat persists in Saudi Arabia. Maximum vigilance should be exercised in daily life, especially when traveling “, Specified the Quai d’Orsay.
But at the same time, on Twitter, the Saudi Minister of the Interior dismissed ” any suspicion of a criminal nature “And evoked a” accident “.
Philippe Boutron, 61, is an experienced pilot. He has already taken part in the Dakar eight times. He finished 33rd in the last edition. He is, moreover, president of the football club of US Orléans, resident of the French National Championship (third division). The 2022 edition of the Dakar ends on January 14.