Daniel, paraplegic, from Dijon to the 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit

Daniel De Sousa Do Rego is taking part this weekend in the first round of the French Handisport Motorcycle Championship. The Dijon driver is racing on the Le Mans track. Participating in his first season in the category, he dreams of finishing once on the podium.

“You can’t imagine what it does to me. It’s legendary to ride here, it’s incredible, great for someone who rides a motorcycle and who is passionate about it”. It’s with sunshine in his voice that he won’t let go of throughout our conversation that Daniel De Sousa Do Rego evokes his pleasure, and his pride too, to ride this weekend on the famous track of Le Mans (Sarthe). The pilot from Dijon, paraplegic at level T5 after a serious two-wheeled accident, is taking part in his first French championships in handisport motorcycles.

On the essential 24-hour track, he has been making his first laps since Thursday April 14 behind the handlebars of his 600 cubic centimeter Honda. “We are right in the middle of the week of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It is one of the biggest events of the year in endurance motorcycling. And next to it, there is a race reserved for disabled people”he describes.

Qualified 19th on the starting grid which mixes the displacements of 600 and 1000, but 9th in its category, it takes part in two races of 14 laps. This Friday, he finished 15th overall before the second race on Saturday. “I’m so happy, it was wonderful to be in front of the public”.

Daniel, 28, then rubbed shoulders with French specialists in his discipline. This is the first of three rounds of the French championship. But also foreign pilots, because the race is part of the World Cup. What to satisfy a passion that has never died out, despite the loss of the use of his lower body, from the legs to the abdominals, after an accident on May 8, 2017.

“It’s adrenaline. It’s a drug, really! Disability on a daily basis, if I didn’t have the motorcycle and my relatives, my friends, it would be complicated, I would have sad thoughts. With the motorcycle, I forget the disability. It’s one of the rare moments when I leave my chair. When I’m sitting on a motorcycle, I forget that I have a disability”.

To succeed in living this dream and participating in the French championship, Daniel was able to count on the loyalty of his entourage, always present at his side, and on the generosity of Internet users. Last October, he launched an online kitty. Objective: find 10,000 euros to finance its registration for the competition. “It’s a very expensive sport. It allowed me to have funds. I have an eternal gratitude for my loved ones and those who gave a little money. I am eternally grateful to them“, he confides with emotion.

The pilot also relies on “tricks” as he says to be able to ride his bike. Daniel has equipment that allows him to pilot mainly with his arms, his lower limbs no longer working. “For the legs, I have toe clips to hold me up. Then, it’s the driving that makes the difference. It’s more physical, especially in the braking phase. But I’m so happy that I forget that. We find new techniques to adapt”describes the Dijonese.