“The goal is to win the Dakar within three years”
EN BREF…
G.D.M.
- Motor racing is a family affair for the De Mévius clan. Drivers Guillaume and his brother Ghislain are following in their father's tyre tracks. Grégoire has competed in eight Dakars (best result: eighth) and co-founded Overdrive Racing with Jean-Marc Fortin. His second son cut his teeth in rallying in Belgium before securing a drive with Citroën for the 2019 WRC2 season.
- The young Belgian made his Dakar debut in 2022 with the Red Bull Off-Road Junior team, then racing the lightweight OT3s prototypes developed by Overdrive. His first participation ended in retirement after a category stage victory on day two. He then took the reins of the OT3 project, renamed the G Rally Team OT3, the G standing for the De Mévius boys. With the dual role of manager and driver, Guillaume competed in his second Dakar in 2023, sponsored by Nasser Al Attiyah. Leader in T3 for two days, he finished an impressive third place.
- The Red Bull programme saw the emergence of its first talents, including Guillaume. He entered the Ultimate category and competed in his first Dakar in 2024. He won stage 1, becoming the first Belgian to win a special stage since 2003. He finished runner-up overall and confirmed his status as one of the new faces of world rally-raid. He ended the 2024 W2RC season in fourth place.
- Approached by several manufacturers during 2024, Guillaume chose to join Mini, attracted by its long-term vision, which offered him a three-year contract and the support provided by X-raid. The first results were promising: a victory in the Baja Aragon and a podium finish in the Rally of Morocco. All the ingredients are in place for him to be a front-runner in January in the Mini JCW Rally 3.0i with its new petrol engine.
M.B.
- An extreme sports enthusiast, Mathieu Baumel aspired to ski at the highest level before an injury put the brakes on his ambitions. Saddened by his situation, his friend Emmanuel Guigou, then an aspiring pilot, suggested that he sit to his right to take his mind off things. The experience was convincing, and the two men competed together for the first time in 1997. Mathieu was 21 at the time.
- In 2004, his partnership with Guerlain Chicherit excelled in the Volant Dakar, a detection operation launched by ASO and the FFSA. They made their Dakar debut in 2005 and quickly gained attention. AT X-raid, they finished ninth in 2006 and won their maiden stage. Mathieu's calm demeanour, management and navigation skills impressed everyone.
- A few years later, the Monaco-based co-driver became Nasser Al Attiyah's right-hand man. The Franco-Qatari pair made an immediate impact by winning the Dakar in 2015. Three more victories followed in 2019, 2022 and 2023. The power couple won races all over the world. Baumel also won six world titles in the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies (2015, 2016, 2017, 2021) and the W2RC (2022, 2023).
- His collaboration with Al Attiyah abruptly stopped after the 2024 Dakar, but the Frenchman quickly bounced back. He reunited with Chicherit for a race in Portugal before teaming up with Guillaume De Mévius and Mini. Mathieu now applies his experience to help the young Belgian driver, aiming to guide him to the heights of motorsport.
AMBITION 2025 :
G.D.M.: “The discussions with Mini and Toyota didn't start immediately after my second place in the Dakar, but in June. I received some concrete offers in September, and I chose Mini. I signed a three-year contract. It's a bold choice, but it's the right one in the long term. I've read here and there that it's a 'transfer', but it's not: before I was a customer, this is the first time I am an official driver! Based on what I've seen, I've taken this gamble, and I've got the feeling that it will go well. My objective is to win the Dakar in the next three years. The X-raid team has won the Dakar six times, and they have a certain amount of experience and a way of working that I really like. They are transferring the experience and know-how they have gained with Audi to the Mini. They won the last Dakar, so they have what it takes to bring performance to the Mini! The team is doing a great job, and things are going well. I am already getting on nicely with Mathieu in the car; he's serene, calm, and precise. We won the Baja Aragon and finished third in Morocco despite a problem on the final day. That bodes well for the future. I still have much to learn to aim for victory on the Dakar, to say otherwise would be pretentious. Let's just say that I hope to finish in the Top 5, with the hope of a podium finish, just like in 2024!”
M.B.: “With the experience of all these years spent in the desert, it seemed logical to me to help the youngsters who are coming up, the rising stars of the Dakar. The teams are getting younger, and Red Bull's network is starting to work well. I had to find my place in the middle of it all, which took some time. The early days with Guillaume were very encouraging, as we won the Baja Aragon and then finished on the podium at the Rally of Morocco. I was pleasantly surprised by his driving technique, the way he listened and the way he put things into action. From what I've seen of Guillaume's abilities, he has nothing to envy anyone! The Mini is powerful and has a great chassis. Of course, there are still things to work on, not just with the car but also with ourselves. Participating in the Dakar is always enormously motivating, and competing with Guillaume adds something extra. Being able to help a young driver and run at the sharp end of the field gives you tenfold motivation! We must put it all together and do well in this 2025 championship, which promises to be very exciting.”
