Paul Costes had hopes of making his Dakar Rally debut in 2026 alongside his brother Adrien. Unfortunately, those plans have been shelved as he’s been dealing with myocarditis since April. The condition will also keep him from racing the Rallye du Maroc in October.

Myocarditis is inflammation of the cardiac muscle such as the heart, which can lead to chest pain and irregular heartbeat or be fatal if severe enough. While most cases are mild, the symptoms often prevent those with the condition from physical activity.

Costes was unable to exercise whatsoever following his myocarditis diagnosis. He underwent a screening on Monday, but was not cleared to resume training or racing.

“I will now take the time to fully recover, hoping for better results during the next examination in April 2026,” said Costes. If things go well, he plans to race Dakar in 2027 instead.

While Morocco and Dakar are out of the picture for him, he will still be at both events with Nomade Racing to support Adrien. Their father Lionel is also slated to race Dakar as a navigator.

The Costes brothers have raced in the W2RC to qualify for Dakar since the 2023 Rallye du Maroc. Paul finished 71st in Rally2 at that event, followed by 13th and a spot ahead of Adrien at the 2024 BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal. He placed 81st in the 2024 RdM.

Featured image credit: via Paul Costes