The health bulletin published, Tuesday, January 4, on the Sodicars Racing team website is laconic. We simply learn that Philippe Boutron, the French driver injured Thursday, January 30 in the explosion that hit his vehicle in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, two days before the start of the Dakar rally-raid, is currently being taken care of at the hospital. soldier from Percy to Clamart (Hauts-de-Seine).
The 61 year old man is “Placed in an artificial coma so as to alleviate his suffering”, his legs having been “Banged up” by the explosion. As for his co-pilot, Mayeul Barbet, he is also back in France, where, specifies the team, “He is rebuilding himself morally after having lived one of the most painful weeks of his life”.
What really happened on Thursday, December 30? The course of events is now known, but gray areas remain around the causes of the explosion, which prematurely ended Philippe Boutron’s ninth Dakar.
He was behind the wheel of the assistance vehicle, on board which his co-pilot and four other people were also seated, in order to reach the bivouac where the pre-race technical verifications were taking place. After driving a few hundred meters out of their hotel, an explosion occurred near a gas station. “The car started to catch fire and Philippe asked me to come and help him get out of the seat”, says Mayeul Barbet in a testimony relayed on January 2 by Sodicars Racing.
For the latter, it is not an accident, but a “Attack” using a bomb placed in the side member – one of the chassis parts. A thesis shared by Thierry Richard, 57, also present in the 4 x 4 during the drama. “We saw the impact under the vehicle. We are not stupid, we know that it is also an explosion. We took a breath in the car, argued the pilot to Agence France-Presse (AFP). We were blown up. “
If the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the race manager, Amaury sport organization (ASO) have not formally excluded this track, they have been less categorical. “The hypothesis of a criminal act is not ruled out” and “The terrorist threat persists in Saudi Arabia”, recognized the Quai d’Orsay, calling in its travel advice to the “Maximum vigilance” after this “Explosion”. Through the voice of race boss David Castera, ASO let it be known that he was not pushing back “No possibility, including that of a malicious act “ and announced the strengthening of the security measures in force on “The whole course, the hotels and the bivouacs”.
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