Had one of the biggest blunders in Belgian police history not occurred, Jonathan Savel would be at the start of the Dakar Rally in January. In an email to his family, director David Castera confirmed Savel would have been accepted for the 2025 race with his performance in the World Rally-Raid Championship.
Savel was an officer in the Federal Police Special Units’ POSA (“Protection, Observation, Support, Arrest”) division, which specialises in tactical police operations. On the morning of 18 March, he was leading a POSA house raid in Lodelinsart when the suspect—wanted for weapons and drug trafficking—opened fire from behind a door, mortally injuring him and wounding two other agents; the shooter was killed in the ensuing gun battle. Savel was 36 years old.
He is the fifth DSU member to die in the line of duty. His funeral was held five days after the mission, which was attended by thousands including the Ministers of Defence, Interior, and Justice. Minister of the Interior Annelies Verlinden posthumously gave him the Civic Decoration, which is awarded to civilians for acts of valour.
Three police officers in Charleroi were subsequently arrested in connection with the botched operation and charged with forging of documents, embezzlement by a public official, breach of trust and professional secrecy, unlawful access of police databases, and weapons infractions.
The raid took place three weeks after Savel finished twenty-third in the Rally2 category and fifth among Malle Moto riders at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. It was his second championship start after a fifty-fourth in class at the 2023 Rallye du Maroc. He hoped to use the latter along with the non-W2RC Hellas Rally Raid he ran earlier in 2023 to qualify for the 2024 Dakar Rally, but his application was rejected due to insufficient experience.
Registration for the 2025 Dakar opened in May, two months after his death. Still, Castera explained in the email, which was published by the family on Wednesday, that the ADDC bolstered his credentials enough where Amaury Sport Organisation would have let him take part. Savel hoped to compete in Original by Motul (Malle Moto), a subcategory of Rally2 for riders without assistance from teams.
“First of all, I would like to express my sincere condolences,” begins the message. “To answer your question, I can confirm that Jonathan Savel, given his results in Morocco, the Greece rally and the ADDC and his good physical condition, would have been accepted for the 2025 Dakar in the Original By Motul category. Sincerely, David Castera, Dakar Director.”
Matthieu Jauffraud, a close friend of Savel who helped his family reach out to the ASO, plans to bring Savel’s jersey to the Dakar when he makes his début.