PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY: DUMAS WEIGHS IN WITH A FINE PERFORMANCE
Romain Dumas may well be a legend of motorsport, a three-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours, the world endurance championship and Pikes Peak record holder (5 victories) but his second place today, 1’22’’ behind Mattias Ekstrom, tasted like victory for the man who has been eating dust since the start of his 9th attempt at the rally:
“Doing the Dakar once every two years on the fly isn't easy, the level is incredibly high. But for the last two or three days, we've seen that we're among the fastest, always well placed at some point in the specials, without managing to capitalise on it, which we haven't managed to do again today as we're second. But we'll try again tomorrow”.
Having been contacted by Ford Racing last September to come to Yanbu several weeks later behind the wheel of a Ford Raptor decked out in his own colours, the Frenchman accepted “an offer you cannot refuse”.
On the rally, Dumas has previously finished five times in fifth on a special but today he achieved his best result and perhaps this season he will have the opportunity to prepare better for a possible 10th participation in the Dakar.
Ford Racing registered him in the world championship alongside the American brand’s four official cars and his performance could “have an effect on what happens in 2026”.
Perhaps the scales have tipped in his favour today…
