Mathieu Baumel reflects on his serious accident after the Dakar: “the most difficult decision of my life”
Victim of a very serious accident at the end of January while assisting an accident-stricken car on the roadside, the French co-driver who has won the Dakar four times had his leg amputated, but he has only one wish: to return to competition as soon as possible.
Mathieu Baumel is a legend in Rally Raid and the Dakar Rally. A four-time winner of the event as the co-driver for Nasser Al-Attiyah (2015, 2019, 2022, 2023), the Frenchman is considered a benchmark in his field. In late January, just days after the 2025 edition of the Dakar, and while on his way to attend the start of the historic Monte-Carlo rally, Baumel was involved in a very serious traffic accident near the city of Reims.
Stopping to assist a car that had broken down, another vehicle collided with the immobilized car, throwing the driver against the tow truck. Placed in an induced coma for a few days, he then had to make the most difficult decision of his life by agreeing to have his right leg amputated.
It is in a video message posted on his social media that the now co-driver of Belgian Guillaume de Mevius announced the news:
As you know, I was involved in a serious accident on the side of the road. A car crashed into another car which then hit me, unfortunately. I was transferred to the hospital where I still am, and after 17 days now, I can tell you that I am getting better, but I have made the most difficult decision of my life to have my right leg amputated.
« I will therefore have a carbon prosthesis as a new leg, but unfortunately it will not be my original leg. I also had three operations on my left leg that will allow me to recover it. »
In his message, Baumel also took the opportunity to thank the staff of the Reims hospital and everyone who sent him messages of support: « I would like to thank all the people who took care of me here at the hospital. I would also like to thank everyone around the world who sent me messages since my accident, whether they were letters, videos, or messages on WhatsApp. It gives me a lot of strength for the future that now awaits me. »
Baumel now has only one thing on his mind: participating in Dakar 2026, where he will once again be teamed up with De Mevius: « Now, I have only one goal, to be ready for the next Dakar in the T1+ category and fight for victory. It’s now time for recovery, which will take weeks, maybe months, but I feel good in my head and ready to face anything in the future. »
As soon as possible, Baumel will be transferred to a specialized center in Grau-du-Roi in Occitanie, where he will work with his prosthesis and regain mobility and muscle strength on the left side. He will then head to Capbreton in the Landes for even more specific muscular retraining.
Winning the Dakar with my prosthesis would be incredible! Additionally, I wish to establish a foundation to help major road trauma victims.
The entire MotorsInside editorial team wishes Mathieu Baumel a speedy recovery and now looks forward to seeing him back on the tracks.
