Almost everything was smiling on him from the start. Title holder in the SSV category, Xavier de Soultrait took control of the 2025 edition from the first stage, won in his Polaris against the Can-Ams announced untouchable before the start.
The Nivernais then pranced in the lead in front of his teammate Brock Heger, relegating far behind a competition hit by various mishaps. “But it was so beautiful. A Dakar without hassle is not a Dakar! », jokes Xavier de Soultrait, at the start for the twelfth time, the third in a car. After an ideal start to the race, the harsh laws of motorsport finally caught up with him during the fourth stage.
Motivation intact
The Nivernais pilot was sailing towards Aiula when he had to stop mid-effort. “We encountered a small technical problem and we lost a little over an hour on the track,” he explained upon arrival. Pointed at one hour and 45 minutes from the winner that day, the driver of the Sébastien Loeb Racing team lost control of the race. “Okay, it’s happening!” It’s unfortunate, but it takes more to break our morale and give up,” he continues. Not enough to make him lose his smile. Nor his ambitions for victory. “We still believe in it! »
The day after this problem, Xavier de Soultrait returned to his usual level by finishing third in stage 5, despite a particular epic on the track. Due to his mishap the day before, he started 108th behind many competitors slower than him, who had to be overtaken during the 428 kilometers of special. The lively end of a first week of demanding racing, both physically and mechanically.
Seven stages remain to be completed between now and the finish, which will await the competitors on January 17 in Shubaytah. 4,175 kilometers, including 2,383 timed, are still on the program.
-Enough to make up for the delay of one hour, 18 minutes and 30 seconds that Xavier de Soultrait has over Brock Heger. “In 2024, we lost an hour before winning the race by two minutes. We paid our price this year, now we will try to come back,” he promises.
“A thousand things are still going to happen”
The two leading SSV crews defend the same colors, those of the American manufacturer Polaris. With the Nivernais behind, should we fear a team instruction asking him to line up behind the Californian, and ensure the victory of Polaris against the rival brands? “No, for the moment, there are no instructions,” reassures Xavier de Soultrait. “That’s not the style of the house. The race is still very long, everything remains to be done. We’ve only made it halfway, there’s still a thousand things going to happen! »
General classification of the SSV category after the fifth stage. 1. Heger-Eddy (Sébastien Loeb Racing, RZR Factory Racing), 31 h 51’54” ; 2. De Soultrait-Bonnet (Sébastien Loeb Racing, RZR Factory Racing), at 1 h 18’30”; 3. Pinto-Oliveira (Old Friends Rally Team), at 1 h 34’20”; 4. Contardo-Latrach (Can-Am Factory Team), at 1 h 58’59” ; 5. De Sadeleer-Gil (MMP), at 3 h 57’50
