Guillaume de Mévius and Mathieu Baumel: "Cracking the top 5 would be a great way to get back in the game"

January 1 ^st 2026 - 21:50 [GMT + 3]

Guillaume de Mévius is Mini X-raid's key asset. The Belgian was the first to place his trust in Mathieu Baumel, a four-time winner of the event as a navigator, after the Frenchman suffered a horrific crash a few days after they had completed the Dakar together. The crew that stole the show with second place in 2024 has staged a remarkable comeback. 

Mathieu Baumel: "Getting to the start line? Check. They said I'd have to spend one or two years in physical rehab, but I got it out of the way in six months. I always said I wanted to come back to the Dakar. Looking back now, saying that as early as February was wildly optimistic, because at that point I didn't even know whether I would end up with one leg or two, but that belief is what got me out of bed every morning, kept the flame of hope burning and gave me the strength to put the work in. Inside the car, I'm seated with just one leg. I can detach the lower part of the prosthesis, so I don't need to deal with its weight when we hit a hole. Once I'm strapped in, it barely changes a thing. Where it gets trickier is when you have the usual rally-raid headaches, like punctures. We know it's going to cost us some time, but the way we operate has evolved and Guillaume takes on a bit more! A few dozen seconds aren't gonna stop us. There are still question marks, especially in the sand. Saying we want to win this would be too optimistic. Cracking the top 5 would be a great way to get back in the game. There's also the world championship to think about this year, and just because you finish fifth in the Dakar doesn't mean the world title is out of reach. A more realistic proposition, which I hope we'll be able to achieve soon, is a stage win. It would be a personal victory for me, and we owe it to the team."

Guillaume de Mévius: "Going fast isn't the be-all, end-all of rally raids. Having the best navigator might cost me some time here and there, but being smarter about avoiding punctures or getting stuck in the sand can actually be a net gain. I know we understand and work well with each other, we're in synch. Finding someone on Mathieu’s level is far from easy, so sticking with him was clearly the sensible choice. Overall, I'll approach the race from a different perspective, which is good for rally raids. I see it as a positive step that might make me even more competitive than before. At any rate, I've never felt I'm losing time by keeping Mathieu at my side."