Mathieu Baumel celebrates comeback after his serious accident: Start at the Baja Sharish
09/05/2025
- Only seven months after a severe accident, Mathieu returns alongside Guillaume de Mévius
- Great joy at X-raid over his comeback
X-raid is delighted to announce that Mathieu Baumel will once again take his seat in the MINI JCW Rally 3.0i at the Baja Sharish. The French co-driver lost his right leg in a serious accident shortly after the Dakar Rally. Now – only about seven months later – he is making his remarkable comeback alongside Guillaume de Mévius.
The news of Baumel’s accident deeply moved the entire off-road rally community earlier this year. The support and encouragement from around the world were overwhelming. After a long hospital stay and intensive rehabilitation, the Frenchman has now reached his next big goal: returning to the race car.
A few weeks ago, Baumel was already able to take part in test drives in France, where he sat in a rally car again for the first time. Now comes the next step: returning to official competition. Together with De Mévius, with whom he piloted the MINI JCW Rally 3.0i at the Dakar Rally 2025, he wants to compete again at the Baja Sharish. The result will not be the main focus that weekend. After the challenges of the past months, adapting to the car and fine-tuning his prosthetic will be the top priorities.
The Baja Sharish will take place from September 11 to 14, 2025, in Portugal. A total of 489.30 timed kilometers – spread across four special stages plus a prologue – await the competitors.
Statements
Sven Quandt (X-raid Teamchef): „“It’s incredible that Mathieu is able to compete in a rally again after only seven months. Just a few weeks ago, he completed a test with us, which went very well. Now we are curious to see how everything works under real competition conditions. Let’s see what’s possible.”
Mathieu Baumel (MINI JCW Rally 3.0i): “I’m extremely happy to finally be competing in a rally again and to be working with the team and with Guillaume. My accident was seven months ago. I still need to train my left leg further, and there are also some improvements needed on my prosthetic. But by now I have all the documents I need to be cleared for racing. That’s why I want to get started again as soon as possible. One advantage of beginning with a shorter Baja is that if we encounter problems or identify areas for improvement, we can address them before the next major rally. Of course, my big goal is the upcoming Dakar. The more kilometers I can cover with Guillaume beforehand, the better. Let’s see what happens.”
Guillaume de Mévius (MINI JCW Rally 3.0i): “I’m incredibly happy that Mathieu is back – and I’m really excited. He has fought unbelievably hard to return. The time after his accident was extremely difficult, and we didn’t know how things would turn out. The fact that he is back in the car after just seven months is fantastic for him – and I’m also very glad to have my co-driver at my side again. For me, he is one of the best in the world. I’m confident that we will quickly get back to a high level. Of course, some challenges still lie ahead. After the first stage, it will certainly be very emotional inside the car.”
