Dakar Rally organizers yesterday hunted for clues to the cause of the death of motorbike rider Michal Hernik that plunged the race into mourning after only three days.
The 39-year-old Polish rider’s body was found 300m from the desert track with no apparent injury or damage to his motorbike that would indicate an accident, race director Etienne Lavigne said.
Lavigne added that Hernik had no helmet on when he was found.
Photo: EPA
Organizers sent a helicopter to look for Henrik after he failed to arrive at the finish line of Tuesday’s stage between the Argentine towns of Villa Carlos Paz and Chilecito. His satellite tracker had stopped sending signals.
The Pole was taking part in the Dakar Rally for the first time. His was the fifth death since the rally was moved to South America in 2009 over security concerns in the Sahara region and the 24th since the race was created in 1979.
Orlando Terranova sustained the Mini team’s winning streak by claiming his second stage win to move third overall in the auto standings, led by teammate Nasser al-Attiyah.
Al-Attiyah, the 2011 champion and winner of Monday’s stage, finished fifth in Tuesday’s stage which included 284km of specials.
South Africa’s Giniel de Villiers, picked up his third podium finish in three days, ahead of another Toyota driven by Saudi Arabia’s Alrahji Zayed, to stay second overall.
In the motorbike section, Austria’s Matthias Walkner was a surprise winner of his first Dakar stage, ahead of KTM teammate and reigning champion Marc Coma and overall leader Joan Barreda Bort of Spain.
“It was really dangerous because we were on river beds with a lot of stones and broken up tracks all day,” Barreda Bort said.
About 34 vehicles failed to start on Tuesday after falling victim to Monday’s longest stage, among them the 4x4 of French duo Catherine Houles and Sandrine Ridet, the only all-female team in the event.
For Japanese veteran Sugawara Yoshimasa, 73 and taking part in his 33rd Dakar Rally, the race goes on, with yesterday’s fourth stage.
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