MINI

 M.B. 

• An extreme sports enthusiast, Mathieu Baumel aspired to become a top-level skier before an injury ended his ambitions. Saddened by his situation, his friend Emmanuel Guigou, then an aspiring pilot, suggested he sit on his right to take his mind off things. The experience proved convincing, and the two men competed for the first time in 1997. Mathieu was 21 years old at the time.
• In 2004, he and driver Guerlain Chicherit excelled in the Volant Dakar, a talent-spotting initiative launched by the Dakar Rally and the FFSA. They debuted in 2005 and attracted attention. Recruited by X-raid, they finished 9th in 2006 and won their first stage. Mathieu's calmness, management skills and navigation abilities were impressive.
• A few years later, the native of Manosque joined Nasser Al Attiyah. The formidable Franco-Qatari duo won the Dakar Rally in 2015, 2019, 2022, and 2023, and were victorious worldwide. Baumel won six world titles, in the FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup (2015, 2016, 2017, 2021) and then in the W2RC (2022, 2023). His partnership with Al Attiyah ended abruptly after the 2024 Dakar Rally. Still, the Frenchman quickly bounced back and teamed up with Guillaume De Mévius and Mini, offering his experience to the young Belgian driver, aiming to guide him to the heights of motorsport.
• His life was turned upside down on 29 January 2025: struck by a car while assisting at the side of the road, Mathieu was in critical condition with serious leg injuries. Difficult days followed, with operations, an induced coma, cardiac arrest and a series of complications. The four-time Dakar winner clung to life but had to make the painful decision to have his right leg amputated, as it was too severely damaged.
• While in the hospital, Mathieu promised himself he would be at the start of the 2026 Dakar Rally. He was told he would need two years of rehabilitation, but he was aiming for 10 months. His family and friends encouraged him. He headed to the rehabilitation centre in Le Grau-du-Roi. Through relentless physical work and tremendous mental resilience, he found himself ahead of the medical predictions. Equipped with prosthetic equipment adapted to his rally-raid needs, he eventually got back in the Mini and then competed in the Baja Parish (2nd). He never doubted that he would be sitting alongside De Mévius in January 2026. He will be there, and not just to make up the numbers, but to fight at the front, as usual.