The 44th edition of Dakar Rally kicked off from Saudi Arabia’s financial hub on New Year’s Day with a short 19km Prologue won by Toyota driver Nasser Al-Attiyah from Audi’s Carlos Sainz Sr.
But attention was quickly diverted at around 18:30 local time by an official press release, issued by organiser ASO, which issued a safety alert for the 3,500 or so inhabitants of the touring camp.
It follows an explosion outside the Hotel Donatello on 29 December, in which five of the six inhabitants of a support vehicle for Team Sodicars were unharmed.
A first statement issued by ASO on 30 December stated that it was aware of the incident, and explained that the driver – latterly named as Philippe Boutron – was being treated at the military hospital in Jeddah.
ASO promised to investigate the incident and to pass on more information when available, saying it was in constant contact with the local authorities to “implement all necessary measures to ensure the full safety of all Dakar 2022…
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