An assistance car belonging to French team Sodicars Racing exploded outside the Donatello hotel in Jeddah on 30 December, just days before the start of the rally on January 1.
Six passengers were travelling in the car during the explosion and, while five of them were unharmed, driver Philippe Boutron suffered a “very serious leg injury”.
While the local authorities has since reinforced the security for the rally, the incident continues to worry the entire bivouac and the French authorities.
On Friday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian opened up the possibility of cancelling the rally-raid in an interview with BFM TV‘s morning show.
Asked by the presenter if the car explosion in Jeddah was a terrorist attack, the minister replied: “It could be. We made it known very quickly and told the organisers and Saudi officials that we had to be very transparent about what had just happened, because there were hypotheses that it could be a terrorist act.
“There have already been…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Autosport.com – All – Stories…