Thibault Benistant: celebration and first smiles with friends after the nightmare

Smiles, affection, and hope for Thibault Benistant: a birthday outside the clinic with friends, before resuming the long battle toward recovery.

A “break” from rehabilitation and the first smiles with friends outside the clinic for Thibault Benistant, who celebrated his 24th birthday on July 31. It was late May when we told you about the very serious accident at Lacapelle Marival that upended the young Frenchman’s life, until then in his rookie year in MXGP with Team Honda Motoblouz SR Motul. A fracture of the T3 and T4 vertebrae was followed by a delicate surgery, as later confirmed by Benistant himself. Recovery is long and costly, and a fundraiser has been launched to help him. In the meantime, however, there was a carefree moment with friends. Like Gianluca Facchetti (who retired from professional motocross at the end of 2022), who chose to share this sweet message for his friend on social media.

The family has never disclosed all the details, asking for respect regarding the French rider’s situation. In the moments that followed, however, fellow countryman Romain Febvre, the reigning MXGP world champion, admitted with concern that his colleague “could no longer feel his legs.” Beyond the initial anger over the missing red flag—later apologizing for the harsh tone used in the moment. The aforementioned vertebral surgery confirms the situation... For the young Frenchman, as noted, a lengthy rehabilitation process is needed given the severe consequences of that crash, right at his home GP. Injuries (or worse, as we have unfortunately reported recently as well) are part of motorsport—fascinating yet at the same time cursed. Benistant has only just begun his new battle; we’ll see step by step where it takes him, even if for now we are talking about a future that is still far off.

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