Ecurie Frères d’Armes will return to the Dakar Classic in 2028, fielding the 1990 Peugeot P4 once again.

The team, consisting of disabled French veterans, last raced the Classic in 2025. Ludovic Failly and Franck Poirot retired in the Peugeot after an electrical fire in Stage 10 and engine failure. Team co-founder Sandra Rivière led an all-women crew alongside Séverine Lehoux and Aurore Vieillard in a Renault Kerax, finishing 74th overall and second in H1T.C. Failly and Poirot were aircraft mechanics severely injured when an F-16D from the Greek Air Force crashed at Los Llanos Air Base in 2015, killing 11 people.

2025 was the team’s second Classic after debuting in 2023 with Mickaël Ranchin and Philippe Robert, who placed 42nd overall. Ranchin is an Operation Barkhane veteran who suffered severe leg wounds when an anti-tank mine hit his vehicle, while Robert lost his leg in a motorcycle accident. Rivière and her husband Emmanuel finished 70th in a 1983 ALM ACMAT TPK.

The P4 and ACMAT are vehicles that have seen use by the French Army. Given their background, the team’s rides often appear at military events where Rivière helped raise funds and sponsors for the Dakar return. More recently, Ecurie Frères d’Armes announced a renewed partnership with French defense and forestry manufacturer UNAC.

Featured image credit: Raphael Rodrigues / FOTOP / ASO