After skipping the 2024 Dakar Classic, Ecurie Frères d’Armes will make their return in 2025 with their flagship 1990 Peugeot P4 joined by a new assistance truck piloted by an all-woman crew.
The team specialises in fielding old military vehicles in cross-country rallies driven by members of the French Armed Forces. Mickaël Ranchin and Philippe Robert débuted the team at the 2023 Dakar Classic, where they finished forty-second overall; Ranchin was wounded by an anti-tank mine while serving in Operation Barkhane in Mali, while Robert is a veteran who lost his leg in a motorcycle accident. Team owners Emmanuel and Sandra Rivière also raced the Classic in a 1983 ALM ACMAT TPK truck that finished seventieth.
Although the Dakar Classic is reserved for vehicles built before 1999, both the Peugeot P4 and ACMAT TPK continue to see military use today. The team did not specify what type of truck the all-female team would use, though the ACMAT is of course expected to be an option. Ecurie Frères d’Armes plans to have both veterans and spouses of military personnel on the truck’s crew.
“Building on this success and the experience gained, our volunteers have set themselves the goal of repeating this project in January 2025, opening it to a larger number of beneficiaries,” begins a statement from the team. “Moreover, in order to counterbalance a male crew, it seemed appropriate to give a chance to a female crew. To top it all off, it was necessary to share this extraordinary human adventure with as many people as possible in order to contribute to the recognition of the cause of the wounded.
“In addition, our team has deliberately chosen to focus on three main areas: providing psychological support as early as possible to accompany the wounded from the beginning of the adventure preparation, adopting an eco-responsible approach in the preparation and implementation of the event, and engaging the female crew on a real racing truck.
“To do this, some private or institutional partners have already renewed their support or are preparing to do so, while others have just joined the adventure with enthusiasm. We warmly thank them, and all will soon be individually recognised. However, the road ahead is long, and time is running out if we want to secure our participation.”
While there have been teams at the Dakar Rally where both the driver and co-driver are women, there are only two instances where this applies to all three members of a truck. The most recent instance came in January’s race when Anja Van Loon, Floor Maten, and Marije van Ettekoven finished twelfth in the Truck category. Two decades prior, Véronique Jacquot finished twenty-ninth at the 2004 Paris–Dakar Rally alongside Géraldine Brucy and Uta Baier.
Ecurie Frères d’Armes is currently focusing on refurbishing the Peugeot’s chassis to remove rust.
