The Dakar Rally special series
In the 2025 Dakar Rally, French co-driver Lucie Baud once again took on the challenge alongside her father. They finished 17th in the T1 Ultimate class and 22nd overall. We had the opportunity to talk to Lucie after she came back from Saudi Arabia. Here is her story.
All photos © Lucie Baud
Lucie grew up in a family of rally drivers. Her father Lionel was already a French Rally Champion before Lucie was even born, and her mother Nathalie is also an avid rally lover. For Lucie, rallying started more as a way to bond with her family than anything else. “When I was younger, my dad worked a lot, so I didn’t get to see him that much. Racing is our activity together so we can spend more time with each other. In our first race together at the 2014 Ronde du Jura in the snow, he told me that I’ve been amazing as the co-driver. That was how I got started.”
Coming from a family of drivers and with a life partner who’s also a driver, Lucie though, has always been fascinated with the seat on the other side of the car. “I prefer to be on the right side. I like this place. As the co-driver, we can give our advice and help the driver to be better. We are the ones managing the race.”
In the first phase of her rallying career, Lucie won three French Championships with three different drivers. It was definitely a great way to start a career, and winning it with different drivers also showed Lucie’s potential as a capable co-driver. “I won the French Championship with my dad and two other drivers. It was a lot of emotions. It was amazing to be able to win it three times with three different drivers.”
Working with a driver is about being a good team. We are in the car together. So we have to learn how the other person works and know each other’s emotions. For me, it’s very important to have lots of communication to understand the driver. We need to be confident in each other.
Even though Lucie didn’t start her career in rally-raid, the Dakar has always been a dream for her since the very beginning. “I’ve always had the dream of doing the Dakar before my 30th birthday and I told my parents about it. In 2022, I won the Bolivia Aventura Cup, which was a rally-raid event, together with my mom. After our victory, she told my dad that I was really good in the race and that I was ready to go on the Dakar with him.”
The Dakar has been a personal goal for me. I love the adventure and the difficulties. I’d like to know if I have the capacity to do the most difficult rally-raid race in the world.
Moving from gravel rally to rally-raid, new challenges were in front of Lucie. To prepare for her 2024 debut in the Dakar, the priority for Lucie was to get more experience in the desert. “Rally-raid is completely different from gravel rally, which I was more used to earlier in my career. In the gravel, you knew the road beforehand, it was very precise, and the races were much shorter. The rally-raid is more of an adventure, much more demanding on the navigation side. We have to be 100% concentrated all the time. We did five or six races in preparation for my first Dakar, including the Abu Dhabi Challenge, to understand the navigation, the dunes, and many other things. The best way to learn the rally is with practice and experience. I also talked to a lot of drivers and asked them questions about the Dakar. Then there was of course also physical training to get stronger.”
Lucie’s Dakar debut didn’t go off to a great start. She had an accident only one kilometer after the start of the first stage. But with determination from her and her father, they were able to finish 22nd in the Ultimate class. Lucie not only proved that she could do the most difficult rally-raid, she also learned many things about herself beyond racing in the two-week marathon. “I learned a lot of things about me and about my mentality. I can be a better person in my life because I learned so much about myself. We had some difficulties during the race. You have to find a solution to continue to the finish.”
In 2025, Lucie embarked on her second Dakar journey with her dad. They improved on their classification in the Ultimate class, again despite some difficult stages. “I’m more confident this year than last year. I have more experience now and my navigation is better.”
The Dakar isn’t just about racing to be the fastest. It is also about the camaraderie among the people who are sharing the journey together. For Lucie, this is one of the aspects that attracted her to rally-raid and the Dakar. “I love sharing the moment with our team and with the other competitors in the bivouac. It’s been a great time and there have been a lot of emotions. We are very lucky.”
Lucie has realized her dream of racing in the Dakar before she turns 30. Now, her new goal is to get in the top 15. For that goal, a busy 2025 season awaits her. “I will participate in more races to get better at navigation and gather more experience. We will do the World Rally-Raid Championship. We will also do some Baja racing, for example, the Qatar International Baja, and maybe the Morocco Desert Challenge, which would be a good preparation for the Dakar with similar conditions.”
Let’s wish Lucie all the best of luck in the 2025 season and beyond!
* We would like to thank Anomalia Paris for all their support in making this interview happen.
Paddock Sorority 
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