Xavier de Soultrait

{{Infobox racing driver

| name = Xavier de Soultrait

| image = Xavier.de.soultrait Dakar 2020 stage 2.jpg

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption = Xavier de Soultrait at the 2020 Dakar Rally

| nationality = French

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1988|5|9|df=y}}

| birth_place =

| related to =

}}

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.autohebdof1.com/actualites/autres-courses/rallye-raid/dakar/dakar-2024-succes-a-larrache-pour-xavier-de-soultrait-et-martin-bonnet-sebastien-loeb-racing-en-ssv.html|title=Dakar 2024 – Snatch success for Xavier de Soultrait and Martin Bonnet (Sébastien Loeb Racing) in SSV|date=19 January 2024|accessdate=20 January 2024|website=autohedbof1.com|publisher=AUTOHedbo}}

Career

De Soultrait began his rally racing career on motorcycles. He made his Dakar Rally debut in 2014, finishing in 34th position.{{cite web|url=https://www.dakar.com/en/competitor/411|title=Profile of Xavier de Soultrait|accessdate=20 January 2024|website=Dakar.com|publisher=ASO}}{{in lang|FR}} In 2016, de Soultrait won the FIM Bajas World Cup, at the time the top championship for motorcycle rally raids.{{cite web|url=https://enduro21.com/en/features/latest/5-minutes-xavier-de-soultrait-i-m-happy-to-be-able-to-race-the-best-bike|title=5 minutes: Xavier de Soultrait – "I’m happy to be able to race the best bike"|date=12 August 2020|accessdate=20 January 2024|website=enduro21.com|publisher=Enduro21}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.foxsports.com.au/motorsport/dakar-raslly-2021-results-standings-toby-price-crash-injury-health-updates-taken-to-hospital-video/news-story/da3b9dabce7da22c4f672c604facea78|title=Aussie former champ airlifted to hospital after devastating Dakar Rally crash|date=13 January 2021|accessdate=20 January 2024|website=foxsports.com.au|publisher=Fox Sports Australia}} Though he would return to bikes for 2022, the injuries led de Soultrait to move to four-wheel vehicles for 2023. 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.

Results

=Dakar Rally=

class="wikitable"
Year !Class !Vehicle !Position !Stages won
2014 \|rowspan="9"\| Bikes \|rowspan="7"\| {{flagicon\|JPN}} Yamaha \|align="center" style="background:#CFCFFF;"\| 34th \|align="center"\| 0
2015 \|align="center" style="background:#CFCFFF;"\| 13th \|align="center"\| 0
2016 \|align="center" style="background:#EFCFFF;"\| DNF \|align="center"\| 0
2017 \|align="center" style="background:#CFCFFF;"\| 87th \|align="center"\| 1
2018 \|align="center" style="background:#EFCFFF;"\| DNF \|align="center"\| 0
2019 \|align="center" style="background:#DFFFDF;"\| 7th \|align="center"\| 1
2020 \|align="center" style="background:#EFCFFF;"\| DNF \|align="center"\| 0
2021 \|rowspan="2"\| {{flagicon\|AUT}} Husqvarna \|align="center" style="background:#EFCFFF;"\| DNF \|align="center"\| 0
2022 \|align="center" style="background:#CFCFFF;"\| 15th \|align="center"\| 0
2023 \|rowspan="2"\| SSV \|rowspan="2"\| {{flagicon\|USA}} Polaris \|align="center" style="background:#CFCFFF;"\| 19th \|align="center"\| 0
2024 \|align="center" style="background:#FFFFBF;"\|1st \|align="center"\| 3

class="wikitable"

Year

!Class

!Vehicle

!Position

!Stages won

2014

|rowspan="9"| Bikes

|rowspan="7"| {{flagicon|JPN}} Yamaha

|align="center" style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 34th

|align="center"| 0

2015