The last-minute scramble to find a friend for the Dakar

Dakar 2025 | Stage 1 | BISHA > BISHA
January 4 ^th 2025 - 22:04 [GMT + 3]

Lionel Costes was already focused on preparing for the 2026 Dakar, where he plans to support his two sons in their first motorbike attempt. However, the man from Aveyron loves lending a hand, and here he is, after a wild turn of events, serving as Ludovic Ghirardi's co-driver.

When people talk about the family atmosphere at Team MD Rallye, as they often do, it is not empty marketing speak. Ludovic Ghirardi saw it first-hand these last few days, as the machinery of camaraderie spun into gear to save his second Dakar participation. The businessman from Villeurbanne and Val Thorens found himself without a co-driver following the last-minute withdrawal of François Borsotto, his right-hand man in his 26th-place finish in 2023. Maryse, the wife of the founder, Antoine Morel, leapt into action to take charge of this tense situation, calm but not entirely certain of finding the perfect solution. That was until the idea struck to ring Lionel Costes, Jean-Rémy Berghoune's co-driver, who had chosen to take a break this year. "I knew they knew each other and got on well, and that we could match them up easily", chuckles the Norman team's chief coordinator.

The challenge was whether the Aveyron native could free himself up in time to take his seat on Ludovic's right: "Thankfully, my wife was understanding and encouraged me to go, even if it meant being away from home for two weeks", explains the back-up navigator. "But I'd lost my passport not long before and had to get an emergency one. While that happened quickly, several airlines denied me boarding, which was starting to get a bit nerve-racking."

On his third attempt, thanks to a ministerial exemption request to the Saudi flag carrier, Lionel Costes finally managed to board a flight to Jeddah, but his race against time was not over yet. "We got the e-mail Thursday afternoon, jumped on a plane Thursday night and, after landing, I took a taxi for a 500-kilometre dash to Bisha. I barely got a wink of sleep." Though the FIA paperwork had been sorted in advance and Lionel was properly registered on the entry list, he still had not had time to slip into his race suit just an hour before his prologue start time. "It's completely bonkers to be here, but I'm ultimately thrilled to be starting the race, because deep down, I was itching to come back!", admits the co-driver of Optimus no. 263, much to the relief of his driver. Rather predictably, this impromptu return to competition was not crowned with glory, as they wrapped up the prologue in 67th position. They made scant progress the next day, but the duo still finished the first stage in 63rd place, 47 minutes behind Seth Quintero. Yet the day ended with podium honours, where they received the "Spirit of Dakar" award, recognising in this case a keen sense of friendship: "It's completely unexpected. We're still amateur drivers even if we try to get up near the front-runners. And I don't deserve the credit, it's mainly Maryse who pulled out all the stops to get me here on time", With that kind of attitude, he could well deserve the modesty award too.