The death of Argentine rider Jorge Martinez Boero overshadowed the first day of the Dakar Rally on Sunday during which Russia’s Leonid Novitzkiy lead the cars section and Chilean Francisco Lopez the motorbikes.
The 38-year-old Boero, making his second appearance on the grueling rally, suffered a heart attack after being seriously injured in a fall from his Beta bike 2km from the end of the stage between Mar del Plata and Santa Rosa de la Pampa in the west of Argentina.
Organizers said that Boero received medical attention within five minutes of the crash and the Argentine was airlifted by helicopter, but he died on the way to hospital.
Photo: Reuters
Boero, they said, “was the victim of a fall at kilometer 55 of the special of the first stage between Mar del Plata and Santa Rosa.”
“The rider suffered a cardiac arrest following his fall and was attended five minutes after the accident by the medical staff, who reached the place of the incident by helicopter,” the organizers said. “Despite their best efforts, the doctors were unable to resuscitate the pilot, who died while he was being taken to hospital. The organizers of the rally offer their heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones.”
Boero was the son of a former Argentine racing champion of the same name who died in 2004. His only previous Dakar Rally appearance last year ended when he crashed into a ravine during the sixth stage in Chile and he had to wait eight hours before being rescued.
Boero’s death was the 21st of a competitor during a Dakar Rally, organized 29 times in Africa from 1979, before moving to South America in 2009.
In total, 59 people have died during the rally, including more than 20 spectators.
“It’s a real tragedy. He’s a boy that we knew well,” race director Etienne Lavigne said. “There’s a lot of emotion at the camp tonight. It will be tough to start tomorrow, but it’s the biggest tribute we could give him. The competition continues.”
During the day’s racing, Mini got off to a flying start with Novitzkiy clocking 32 minutes, 12 seconds over the 57km special to finish 5 seconds ahead of Poland’s Krzysztof Holowczyc, with France’s former champion Stephane Peterhansel 9 seconds off the pace — both also in Minis.
Defending champion Nasser Al-Attiyah struggled home 9 minutes, 50 seconds behind Novitzhiy after his Hummer ran into mechanical problems.
“We will see, but this does not look good ... whatever happens, this is not a good way to start the Dakar,” the Qatari said.
Aprilia rider Lopez timed 32 minutes, 37 seconds, coming in 14 seconds ahead of defending motorbike champion Marc Coma of Spain on a KTM and 27 seconds in front of Argentine Javier Pizzolito, riding a Honda.
Coma scored some early points against teammate and principal rival Cyril Despres of France, who finished 1 minute, 48 seconds behind the stage winner in 13th place.
Uruguay’s Sergio La Fuente leads the quad standings and Dutch driver Marcel van Vliet the truck category.
Manchester United on Tuesday confirmed Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season, tasking him with leading the Red Devils back into the UEFA Champions League. “Having the responsibility to lead Manchester United is an honor,” said Carrick, 44, who won 12 major trophies in his 12-year playing career at United. The former midfielder previously had an unbeaten three-game stint as caretaker boss at Old Trafford in 2021. Carrick then took on his first permanent managerial role at second-tier Middlesbrough in October 2022 and was sacked in June last year after the club finished 10th in the
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg on Wednesday was ruled out for the second half of their 118-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets after the No. 1 pick sprained his left ankle in the first half. Flagg was called for a foul while defending against Peyton Watson and turned the ankle as he fell to the floor with 6 minutes, 1 second left in the second quarter. Flagg limped to the bench and continued to the locker room, but returned for the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds before the break. The 19-year-old did not come out for the second half before the announcement that
RSS