Xavier de Soultrait

Xavier de Soultrait
Xavier de Soultrait at the 2020 Dakar Rally
NationalityFrench
Born (1988-05-09) 9 May 1988 (age 36)

Xavier de Soultrait (born 9 May 1988) is a French rally motorcyclist and driver. De Soultrait has competed primarily in rally raid events, including the Dakar Rally. He won the 2024 Dakar Rally in the SSV class.[1]

Career

De Soultrait began his rally racing career on motorcycles. He made his Dakar Rally debut in 2014, finishing in 34th position.[2] In 2016, de Soultrait won the FIM Bajas World Cup, at the time the top championship for motorcycle rally raids.[3] In 2019, de Soultrait achieved his best finish in the Dakar Rally on bikes, finishing 7th.

In the 2021 Dakar Rally, de Soultrait suffered back injuries in an accident on Stage 8.[4] Though he would return to bikes for 2022, the injuries led de Soultrait to move to four-wheel vehicles for 2023.[2] He entered the SSV class for 2023, finishing 19th in his four-wheel debut. In 2024, de Soultrait won the SSV class for his first career Dakar victory.[1]

Results

Dakar Rally

Year Class Vehicle Position Stages won
2014 Bikes Japan Yamaha 34th 0
2015 13th 0
2016 DNF 0
2017 87th 1
2018 DNF 0
2019 7th 1
2020 DNF 0
2021 Austria Husqvarna DNF 0
2022 15th 0
2023 SSV United States Polaris 19th 0
2024 1st 3

References

  1. ^ a b "Dakar 2024 – Snatch success for Xavier de Soultrait and Martin Bonnet (Sébastien Loeb Racing) in SSV". autohedbof1.com. AUTOHedbo. 19 January 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Profile of Xavier de Soultrait". Dakar.com. ASO. Retrieved 20 January 2024.(in French)
  3. ^ "5 minutes: Xavier de Soultrait – "I'm happy to be able to race the best bike"". enduro21.com. Enduro21. 12 August 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Aussie former champ airlifted to hospital after devastating Dakar Rally crash". foxsports.com.au. Fox Sports Australia. 13 January 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2024.