The Dakar, once again in mourning. The biker Paulo Gonçalves, second in the 2015 edition and who was competing in his thirteenth Dakar, died on Sunday, January 12, after a fall at kilometer 276 of the seventh stage of the rally, which takes place for the first time in Saudi Arabia.
The pilot was unconscious and in cardio-respiratory arrest when the medical team on mission arrived. After an attempt at resuscitation, he was transported by helicopter to the hospital, where his death was recorded.
It was the Australian pilot Toby Price, the title holder, who was driving behind Paulo Gonçalves and who found the pilot on the ground, said David Castera, the owner of the Dakar.
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In photos taken a few moments after the accident, we see the pilot lying in the middle of a large sandy plain, his motorcycle a few meters away.
The Portuguese, crowned world champion in all-terrain rallying in 2013, had made his debut on the famous rally in 2006 and had finished four times in the top 10.
After having broken his engine in the third stage, Paulo Gonçalves occupied 46th place in the general classification after the sixth special.
"He is a professional who knew the risks well"
"Paulo was someone who had been there for a long time, who we all knew, who was a rally figure," said David Castera. "So these are very difficult times."
Since the rally was created in 1978, 25 competitors have died, including 20 bikers. The last death of a pilot dates back to the 2015 edition in Argentina.
"We all know that biking is dangerous," said David Castera, when asked about the risks of the motorcycle category. "You leave in the morning, you have a ball in your stomach sometimes because we have no protection, we have nothing. They all know that, these pilots," added the director of the Dakar, who participated five times to the test on a motorcycle. "In addition, he is a professional who knew the risks well. This sport is a dangerous sport and we know it."
Gonçalves, pilot of the Hero team, had been able to start the Dakar this year just after having suffered an accident which had caused him to fracture his spleen last December. "For me, being at the start is already a victory," he said.
In Portugal, his death reacted to the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. "Paulo Gonçalves died trying to fulfill the dream of winning one of the toughest and most dangerous rallying events in the world, in which he has always been a very worthy representative of Portugal," reacted the Portuguese head of state in a statement.
Portuguese Moto GP driver Miguel Oliveira also paid tribute to him on his Facebook account, praising his "courage" and his "bravery", while the president of the Portuguese Motorcycling Federation, Manuel Marinheiro, spoke of the memory of him who was "one of the most experienced pilots in the country".
A tribute will be paid to him in the evening on the bivouac, announced David Castera.
With AFP
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