By Sudouest.fr with AFP
A French driver from the Gironde team Sodicars, injured Thursday in a leg by the explosion of his car near Jeddah on the route of the Dakar 2022, has undergone surgery in Saudi Arabia and must be repatriated to France. The organization does not rule out a “malicious act”
Security has been greatly enhanced around the rally-raid bivouac, noted an AFP journalist. “The driver of the car sustained a serious leg injury on Thursday and had to undergo an operation. His condition is improving […]. His vehicle had been brutally stopped by a sudden explosion, the origin of which is still unknown at this stage. Saudi police immediately went to the scene and began their investigations, ruling out any possibility, including that of a malicious act, ”according to a statement from organizer ASO.
The pilot, the president of the Orléans football club, Philippe Boutron, races in a vehicle prepared by the Sodicars team based in Martillac in Gironde. The Saudi Minister of the Interior dismissed in a tweet any “suspicion of a criminal order” to explain this “accident”, while ASO said earlier in a statement that “the Saudi police” were considering all possibilities “including that of a malicious act ”.
Race director David Castera said in an interview with francetvinfo.fr that the driver was Philippe Boutron. He is taking part in his ninth Dakar and is president of the US Orléans football club. Organizers did not give more details on the severity of his injuries.