Mathieu Doveze
Winning a stage in Rally 2 last year unlocked a lot of things for me. Once you win, you know you can do it again… and you get a taste for it! I wanted to win the overall Rally 2 classification, but I struggled to get into the rhythm at the start of the race and was held back by a fuel shortage in the Empty Quarter. I race to win. Riding is enjoyable, but winning is what really matters to me. My goal is always to take the Rally 2 category victory. I’d like to finish stages close to the Top 5 overall so I can start with the best Rally GP riders in the morning. That’s how you learn—it happened to me last year, and it was incredibly rewarding!
I’m returning with the same team; they believe in me, work hard, and know exactly what to say. After my injury in Morocco, I only got back on the bike in mid-November, but there was no physical downtime. I kept running, cycling, and staying active. The fact that I was limited to physical preparation has actually made me even fitter than before!
About me
Mathieu Dovèze is one of the new faces of French rally-raid. He is part of the ‘Covid generation’, the group of drivers whose confinement precipitated their departure for rally-raid, including compatriots Dumontier, Chapelière and Jagu. An endurance racer until 2020, the rider from Nancy has embarked on the rally adventure with the immediate ambition of entering the Dakar. A goal worthy of a self-taught rider, brought up in a family that wasn’t into off-road motorcycling. Placing 29th on his first Dakar, ‘Much’, as his mother nicknamed him, made his mark on the national scene by finishing as the 3rd best French rider. But a crash on the first stage in 2022 dashed his hopes of a Top 20 finish. Mathieu learned from this experience and changed his approach to the sport, willing to take the time he needed to learn and grow. This approach enabled him to progress in 2023, finishing 21st and narrowly missing out on that famous Top 20. He hopes that will be the case in 2024. The Frenchman, who has made a habit of finishing every rally he takes part in, is now wearing the BAS World KTM Racing Team jersey. He intends to draw inspiration from his team-mates, some of whom play leading roles in Rally2, to continue his ascent in the caravan.