The new year hasn’t even arrived, yet the 2026 Dakar Rally is already off to an inauspicious start for François Cousin.

While rolling his MD Optimus out for private testing on Wednesday, a bird flew into the windshield. The impact left a noticeable crack on the navigator’s side of the glass, but is otherwise fairly small compared to the rest of the windscreen.

Team member Laurent Penet pointed out that the bird was a magpie.

“We hadn’t even driven a single mile yet,” Penet quipped, “and unfortunately, a Saudi magpie just crashed into the windshield! It was so beautiful and brand new!”

Despite the incident, the team proceeded with shakedown as scheduled. The main issue that Cousin encountered was a leak that they hope to resolve in time for the start on Saturday.

Incidentally, the FIA recently approved the use of bolt-on deflector bars or cables to protect the windscreen from damage. Of course, that was designed with thick vegetation in mind rather than a bird flying at top speed. In any case, should this have happened during the race, it could be replaced between stages in parc fermé with the approval of the scrutineer

2026 is Cousin’s fourth Dakar, having appeared every other year since 2020. After retiring from his debut, he finished 44th in T1 in 2022 and 21st in Ultimate at his last appearance in 2024. He and his older brother-slash-navigator Stéphane work as farmers and have also done the Africa Eco Race.

Featured image credit: Laurent Penet