Come back of a hero: Geoffroy Noel de Burlin will drive the MDC 2019 solo

Geoffroy Noël de Burlin (38) focusses, after a few years of absence, again on the MDC. Just graduated as teacher physical education, fate struck this sportive young man and he got paralysed from his waist to his feet  for life after a snowboard accident. To get through this difficult period, he chose a new hobby and started racing as a therapy.

After many years and competitions as a pilot (RZR Cup, BGS Trophy, etc), Thierry Gerome (another pilot in a wheelchair) asked him to be his co-pilot for Libya Rally 2014 and to become the first team ever consisting of a 100% wheelchair crew. Against all expectations and after 7 days of competition, they won the SSV class and became 4th in the general rankings. In 2015, they again won the rally in the SSV class and even became 3rd overall. A unique performance if you realize that changing a tire is a particularly tough challenge for them.

In those years, Geoff’s passion for rally-raid was born! “Now, after 4 years and 8 rallies as a co-pilot, I found myself a new challenge” he says. “One that nobody did before. I will be the first paralysed driver who will enter the desert in a single seat SSV (without co-pilot). The choice for the MDC is obvious: 100% off-road, a great organization, helicopters to secure safety and with this race, my rally career once started”.