René Metge, who helped turn Porsche into one of the most iconic rally raid marques during the Dakar Rally‘s youth in the 1980s, died Wednesday. He was 82 years old.
Metge was a factory driver for Porsche, competing in both rally and sports cars with the brand. He raced the 24 Hours of Le Mans six times starting in 1977 through 1987, winning the IMSA GTX class at the 1986 edition while sharing a Porsche 961 with Claude Ballot-Léna.
He entered the inaugural Paris–Dakar Rally in 1979, driving a Range Rover V8 with future two-time winner Bernard Giroux as his navigator though they failed to finish. The following year saw his only stint in a truck as he piloted a Leyland Marathon VSD to a seventh in class before returning to Range Rover for the next three editions. He broke through in 1981 when he won the overall with Giroux by his side.
Two more years in the Range Rover ended in retirement before he committed to Porsche’s new rally programme formed for 1984. Despite the route being perhaps the toughest up to that point, he and Dominique Lemoyne débuted the team on a strong note as he scored his second win in a Porsche 953 (a souped-up Porsche 911) to become the first repeat winner in Dakar history. Metge added a third title in 1986 in a Porsche 959, completing a 1–2 finish for Porsche with Jacky Ickx placing behind him. With his Le Mans win later five months later, he joined a rare company of drivers with victories in both, let alone in the same year.
In 1987, Metge was named director of the Dakar Rally and served in the position for two years.
When the Dakar moved away from its original route in 2008, he and twice winner Jean-Louis Schlesser co-founded the Africa Eco Race a year later that follows the same path. Metge’s passing was on the same day as the 2024 AER‘s second stage and just two days before the start of the Dakar Rally.
“René was more than just a competitor; he was a partner, a brother to me,” said Schlesser in a bulletin to AER racers. “I helped him in his early races, and he came to help me when we started racing in Africa. I want to pay him a big tribute because he won the biggest races, he was an exceptional pilot and an exceptionally kind person. He had a heart of gold, always ready to help. I remember once on the Paris–Dakar, he said, ‘Louis, can I take the jacks and bring them to a competitor with a broken axle in the dunes? If we don’t bring them, he can’t get out.’ I told him, ‘Sure, go ahead, it’s for your friend.’ There was no hesitation. We didn’t even request a helicopter every day. For René, it was exceptional.
“I commend all of you because you’re running a great race. You respect the villages and everything. We’ll report that there are no issues. So, I send my regards to all of you, and have a little thought for René, our friend René. Have a great race.”
