Dakar – End of the adventure for Romain Dumas

Romain Dumas will not see the finish of the 2015 Dakar for his first participation in the event. The 2010 winner of 24 Hours of Le Mans threw in the towel before the start of the tenth stage contested between Calama (Chile) and Cachi (Argentina) following the breakage of the gearbox of his Optimus MD 04 while he occupied 48th place out of the 75 cars still in the race. “Sad to tell you that my Dakar is over. We are forced to retire: gearbox broken and we cannot repair it. Yesterday, we did 450km in second gear! It wasn't easy, but we still finished the stage.", commented the Frenchman.

The official driver Porsche was keen to go as far as possible with his co-driver François Borsotto even if he lacked experience in rally-raid. “It’s a big disappointment after putting in so much effort. This is how it is and we must accept it. Thanks to my great co-driver with whom we had some great moments, and to MD Rallye Sport. We had a lot of problems, but the solidarity of the locals, Argentinians, Chileans and Bolivians, was incredible. I keep a lot of images in my head. A big thought for the Stable of the Heart and the children of Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque. »

Romain Dumas will have a few days to rest beforeattack the Monte-Carlo Rally which he will compete from January 21 to 25 in a Porsche 911 GT3.