Sunday, January 02, 2022
Concern for the safety of the rally
Dakar driver injured in “sudden explosion”
The Dakar Rally has only just started, and there are already concerns about safety. Even before the start of the race, a French pilot is injured in an explosion in front of a hotel and can no longer participate. Saudi Arabia calms down – nevertheless the security measures are increased.
At the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia, a driver was injured in an explosion in his vehicle. According to race director David Castera, it is the 61-year-old Philippe Boutron. He was registered with co-driver Mayeul Barbet in a Sodicar-Racing buggy. He is president of the French football club US Orléans in the third division. It would have been Boutron’s ninth participation in the rally.
As the organizers of the rally announced, Boutron will be flown to his home country France after his operation. According to the rally organizer ASO, he was seriously injured on Thursday when his vehicle was stopped by a “sudden explosion”. The police wanted to “rule out no possibility, not even a malicious act”.
The explosion did not happen during the race, but in front of a hotel in Jeddah. “An escort vehicle from the Sodicars team was suddenly shut down when leaving the hotel, probably due to an explosion, and the vehicle caught fire,” said Castera, according to “France 4”. A total of six people were on board, but only Boutron was hospitalized. His condition was therefore not critical. According to the rally organizers, Boutron had to undergo an operation on his leg. According to the French Foreign Ministry, the other five passengers were unharmed.
However, following the concerns of the police, the Saudi Arabian interior minister said on Twitter that there was no “criminal suspicion” for the cause of the “accident”. Despite the assurances of the Saudi Arabian authorities, the security precautions around the rally camp have been significantly strengthened, as an AFP reporter reported. In the travel advice on its website, the French Foreign Ministry also called for “maximum vigilance” after the “explosion” and stressed that “the hypothesis of a criminal act cannot be ruled out”. Rally director Castera emphasized that the investigation has started and that a thorough investigation will be carried out.