The Dakar rally was mourned Sunday by the death of the Portuguese biker Paulo Gonçalves, 40, victim of a fall in the seventh stage, won by the Spanish Carlos Sainz. It is the 25th death of a driver in the history of the rally.
Gonçalves, second in the 2015 edition, was an experienced driver, recognized as a figure in the caravan and who was competing in his thirteenth Dakar this year. He fell at km 276 of the special that linked Ryad to the city of Wadi Ad-Dawasir in southwest Saudi Arabia. The organizers explained that the Portuguese was in cardio-respiratory arrest when the medical team arrived. After an attempt at resuscitation which lasted nearly thirty minutes, he was transported by helicopter to the hospital, where his death was recorded.
Tragically deceased on Sunday on # Dakar2020, Paulo Gonçalves had been stranded for six hours in the Saudi desert during the third stage. He had shown exemplary courage before leaving and braving the finish. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/EHg9MKlnlU
- France tv sport (@francetvsport) January 12, 2020"It's the whole Dakar that is mourning, it's very sad and it's difficult to live with," reacted Luc Alphand, winner of the Dakar in a car in 2006. The former skier, who was following the stage by helicopter , was among the first on the scene. “We landed but Paulo was already oblivious. The doctor arrived very quickly and we tried to do massages, ”he said.
"On a motorcycle, we know we play with fire"
Spaniard Fernando Alonso, who is participating in his first Dakar, also said he saw helicopters for medical assistance during the race. “We just learned at the end of the stage that it was bad news. It's difficult to talk about the stage because it's very moving, there is not much to say, "said the double world champion of Formula 1.
In photos taken a few moments after the accident, we see the pilot lying in the middle of a large expanse of sand, his motorcycle a few meters away, while rescue workers and other pilots are busy around him. According to them, the accident took place on a flat sector where the terrain showed undulations, which had been reported on the road-book.
Portuguese biker Paulo Gonçalves passed away.
Portuguese pilot Paulo Gonçalves dies.
Fallecimiento del piloto portugués Paulo Gonçalves.
+ info: https://t.co/mBQxbXgtXe#Dakar2020 pic.twitter.com/amW48i4C2G
It was the Australian biker Toby Price who was riding behind Gonçalves, who found the pilot on the ground, revealed Dakar boss David Castera. The defending champion stayed with the Portuguese for a long time, as did the Slovak Stefan Svitko.
"He's an experienced guy Paulo, whom we've known for years," reacted Stéphane Peterhansel when he returned to the bivouac. "He's a strong, willful guy. We are necessarily sad for our family. ”The Portuguese, crowned world champion in all-terrain rallying in 2013, had made his debut on the rally in 2006, when the race was taking place in Africa, and had finished four times in the top 10. After having broken his engine in the third stage, he occupied 46th place in the general classification at the end of the sixth special.
20 bikers who have died since 1979
Since the rally was created in 1979, 25 competitors have died, including 20 bikers, a figure testifying to the dangerousness of this category, where the drivers sometimes reach breakneck speeds. The last death of a pilot, Pole Michal Hernik, dates back to the 2015 edition in Argentina.
The Stage 8 for tomorrow is canceled for bikes and quads categories: https://t.co/tzXau5N9j8
The stage 8 of tomorrow is canceled in the motorbikes and quads categories: https://t.co/o0mQ0uUQY2
Etapa 8: anulación de la carrera de motos / quads: https://t.co/QgzER4PTuU#Dakar2020 pic.twitter.com/48sc21RqfA
“I've always felt it on a motorbike when we play with fire. I stopped my motorcycle career very young and I saw friends kill themselves in front of me, "testified Peterhansel, thirteen Dakar titles on the clock, including six in motorcycle. "We all know that riding a motorcycle is dangerous," added David Castera. "You leave in the morning, you sometimes have a lump in your stomach because we have no protection, we have nothing".
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- Paris Dakar
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