Dakar Rally
After the breakup with Nasser Al-Attiyah, Mathieu Baumel breaks the silence: “We have to think about the future”
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Rally-Raid
Castera reacts to Le Drian: “There are no additional elements” to speak of an attack
David Castera wants the 2022 Dakar to continue. © Julien Delfosse / DPPI
This Friday, January 7, Jean-Yves Le Driant, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, questioned the merits of continuing the Dakar 2022 while an explosion seriously injured amateur pilot Philippe Boutron.
A few hours later, the Director of rally-raid, David Castera, wanted to react at the microphone of France TV Sport, in an interview which will be broadcast this Friday evening at 19:45 p.m. French time.
According to the former biker and co-pilot, the question of stopping the event “ does not arise, quite simply because there are no additional elements. As the minister's entourage says, the question is what happened on the 30th (December). This is the one we must answer, for the family of Philippe (Boutron) and Philippe himself.
The national anti-terrorism prosecution took charge, Wednesday January 5, of the affair. “We have put in place a lot of additional security measures thanks to the Saudi authorities. We can see it around the bivouac, at the start and at the arrivals, to maintain optimal security. »
The Béarnais recognizes that this extra-sporting news, if it does not call into question the presence of the event in Saudi Arabia, places him in a situation of reflection. “With all these elements, it’s true that we always ask ourselves questions. For the moment, until we have the answers, we will have to wait a little bit. We will already finish this rally, and then we will see what happens next. » The Dakar still has a contract with Saudi Arabia for two years.
Finally, David Castera made contact with the unfortunate Philippe Boutron. “I spoke with Philippe on the phone two days ago. He's incredible, he had morale... He blew me away. We organize sports, we are here to have fun and live our passions. Not to be victims of an attack if there is one. It is a very deep sadness. Today, we think especially of him. We will try to keep our morale up and fight so that sport takes precedence over everything else. »
Medhi Casaurang
Passionate about the history of motorsport across all disciplines, I learned to read thanks to AUTOhebdo. At least that's what my parents tell everyone when they see my name inside!
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DANIEL MEYERS
08/01/2022 at 10:39 a.m.
No, but honestly, who does he take us for?! "we're already going to finish the rally" Of course, that's what counts above all, there's a very juicy contract at the end! 'money is money' and then "there are no additional elements" Well let's see, because the Saudis are not going to do EVERYTHING to cover up the affair? As for our minister and his prosecution, it is better to laugh than to cry.