One jumped on an anti-tank mine on a mission, the other lost a leg in a motorcycle accident on the way to work: Mickaël and Philippe, two thirty-somethings injured in the army, are taking up the challenge of the Dakar 2023 together in Saudi Arabia.
Seven years ago, when Mickaël had to remain hospitalized for 18 months and undergo twelve operations, bone grafts, skin grafts, he would never have thought of being one of the 790 competitors who left for this Dakar he was watching as a kid. “stuck on TV”. Even less end up camping close to the intimidating Audi hybrids and “Monsieur Dakar”, Stéphane Peterhansel. He relishes.
The first stage on Sunday, between sand and pebbles, “was not easy, but we did quite well”, comments the pilot, and “it was magnificent”. As for the next two stages, “we had a great time”, despite running out of gas.
The famous rally-raid was also a dream of Philippe, the navigator who, like his pilot and the members of their team, does not want his name to appear in the press. But “I would never have imagined participating in it,” he comments as mechanics work on their car. “It’s a personal challenge, and an important adventure to also show that we can achieve great things despite the handicap and the injury, and overcome this ordeal”, he says behind his sunglasses with colored lenses.
Sport was their fuel to heal.
– Brother in arms stable –
In Sydney in 2018, during the Invictus Games, a sports competition bringing together wounded soldiers from all over the world, Mickaël won a driving test for his first participation, despite the lack of preparation and driving on the left. Prince Harry, initiator of these Invictus Games, gives him his medal. Philippe also shines especially in athletics, with a prosthesis.
For its part, the Frères d’armes team set up by motor sports enthusiasts linked to the military institution, including Emmanuel and Sandra, wishes to enter a crew made up of war wounded on the Dakar.
The objective is to “pay tribute to the work of reconstruction through sport, a very difficult journey for their family, physically and morally, with sometimes possible post-traumatic stress disorder”, explains Emmanuel.
The adventure begin.
The team has refurbished a 1983 ALM ACMAT still in service with the army, a replica of a truck engaged in the 1981 edition of the Dakar with members from the security training and intervention unit civil, and who had won the victory in a truck.
On board, Emmanuel and Sandra accompany Mickaël and Philippe who are at the wheel of a 1990 Peugeot P4 working in the army until recently, repainted in bright red and decorated with stickers from associations such as “Les broken faces smile all the same” and the “Bleuet de France”.
The pick-up lacks power and “it’s an old vehicle, you have to preserve the mechanics”, says Philippe. The other component to cross the finish line on January 15 in Dammam will be to manage the navigation.
– “Getting back to the desert” –
This necessary vigilance so as not to waste time does not make the two soldiers tremble, any more than the lack of sleep on the bivouac which vibrates at night to the rhythm of repairs and engines.
The two Dakar novices honed their skills during the 24 Hours Off-Road of France on two buggies, prepared for the occasion.
“Before, I knew my limits with the commando courses. With the injuries, my body has changed and the cursor is not at the same level”, explains Mickaël, athletic figure like his co-pilot. But morale is still steel, especially since the rally-raid rhymes with surpassing oneself and allows him to find “the values and the team spirit, the cohesion necessary to accomplish something great” .
For Mickaël, the race is an additional challenge. “Jumping on an explosive device is very violent. I have never set foot in the desert since. It’s a nice revenge,” he said.
The explosion of a vehicle which seriously injured a French competitor during the previous edition and the demining teams and dog brigades which inspect the bivouacs at each change of camp, came “a little to spoil the party”, he admits , but “I’m not going to miss this experience, we’re going through extraordinary things, we’re having fun!”
