Dakar 2024: Saint-Affricain Loïc Minaudier and Mathieu Serradori 10th overall in the car

Le duo s'adjuge la victoire en deux roues motrices. DR

L’équipage visait la 5e place, mais à l’avant-dernière étape le triangle inférieur s’arrache. Le duo s'adjuge toutefois la victoire en deux roues motrices.

Since January 5, Loïc Minaudier, co-driver, and Mathieu Serradori, driver, aboard their Century Racing CR6 two-wheel drive buggy, have been participating in the Dakar which takes place in Saudi Arabia. The event ended this Friday, January 19 in Yanbu.

After more than 4,700 kilometers of specials and a total of 8,000 kilometers, the class crew 10th in the general car classification and first in the two-wheel drive category. Throughout the stages, they joined the fight at the forefront against the four-wheel drive. They have entered the Top 10 nine times, out of twelve stages.

The duo took victory in two-wheel drive. DR

On Tuesday January 16, between Hail and Al Ula, Loïc Minaudier and Mathieu Serradori offered themselves a first podium by finishing third in the stage and fifth in the general classification: « We were well placed at the start and we set off at a great pace. The Century buggy worked perfectly. Third, it’s a huge performance. We enjoyed it, that's what we like, driving fast, attacking, not calculating…hellip; We are rewarded, we are here… »

They could still envisage a top 5 finish at Yanbu. Until the start of Thursday's stage, between Al Ula and Yanbu, they were fighting with the French crew Guerlain Chicherit and Alex Winocq for fifth place overall. That day, no dunes on the program, but inhospitable and brittle soils that the duo had already partly covered during the 2023 edition. Loïc Minaudier and Mathieu Serradori had decided to give everything so as not to have regrets .

At the start of the special, they burst their front tire. Despite this, at kilometer 179, almost halfway, they are in second place. Every second counts. In a scree, almost at a standstill, they are stuck behind a motorcycle. Loïc Minaudier gets out of the car and jumps on the motorbike to clear the track. They leave again and attack. On an insignificant impact, the lower triangle tears off and they lose their front half. They attempt a repair and luckily Brian Baragwanath and Leonard Cremer arrive and help them get out of this special by towing them.

In the evening they are 10th overall. On the last day, with revenge, they started in 28th position. Despite the dust raised by the other competitors which forced them to slow down slightly, they crossed the finish line in 6th position.