Four-time Dakar Rally winning navigator Mathieu Baumel has been seriously injured in a road traffic collision in northern France.
According to reports from La Provence, the Frenchman had been attending to a vehicle that had broken down before being hit by another car.
Baumel, who recently competed in the Dakar alongside Guillaume de Mévius in an X-raid Mini JCW, was in the city of Reims for the start of the Rallye Monte Carlo Historique when the incident occurred.
Speaking to La Provence, Baumel’s father Gérard, who is also the mayor of the Céreste-en-Luberon village in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence region of France, said that his son was conscious at the time of the accident but that the situation was “serious”.
“He saw a crashed car and stopped to help the people when another car arrived and hit him,” he said.
“It’s serious, he was conscious when he was hit.”
Baumel’s exact condition is unknown but La Provence reports that the navigator was placed in an induced coma with injuries to both of his legs.
A statement from the family read: “Mathieu was the victim of a road accident on Wednesday evening. He is currently hospitalized. While waiting for news on his state of health, we thank you for your support.”
Baumel is widely regarded as one of the best cross-country navigators in the world and was associated for many years with Nasser Al-Attiyah during their time at Volkswagen, Toyota and latterly Prodrive.
The pair split following the 2024 Dakar Rally, with Baumel teaming up with de Mévius for the Baja Aragón last summer.