Carles Falcon during Stage 12 of the Dakar Rally 2022 between Bisha and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Photo: Frédéric Le Floch / DPPI / DPPI AFP
Spanish motorcycle rider Carles Falcon has died more than a week after crashing in the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia, his team said on Tuesday.
Falcon, 45, had been in an induced coma since he was flown to hospital in Riyadh, and then back to Spain, after falling 448km into the second stage on 7 January from Al Henakiyah to Al Duwadimi.
Race director David Castera told reporters at the time that the rider, who was competing in the endurance event for the second time after finishing 68th in 2022, had lacked a pulse but was resuscitated by the first doctor to arrive on the scene.
"Carles has left us. The medical team has confirmed that the neurological damage caused by the cardiorespiratory arrest at the time of the accident is irreversible," the TwinTrail Racing team said in a statement on Instagram.
"Carles was a smiling person, always active, who passionately enjoyed everything he did, especially motorbikes. He has left us doing something that was his dream, racing the Dakar."
Carles Falcon during the Stage 2 of the Dakar 2024 on 7 January, 2024 between Al Henakiyah and Al Duwadimi, Saudi Arabia. Photo: Antonin Vincent / DPPI via AFP
Dakar organisers expressed their condolences to his family and friends.
"It was with great sadness that we learned of the death of Spanish rider Carles Falcon from his family," they said in a statement.
Falcon, from Tarragona, was competing in the unassisted bikers category.
The gruelling event, being held entirely in Saudi Arabia for the fifth time, has claimed many lives since the first Paris-Dakar rally was held in 1978. Falcon was the 33rd competitor to die, but first since 2022.
Last year's only fatality was a 69-year-old Italian spectator, Livio Sassinotti, who was hit by a truck while taking photographs behind a sand dune.
Sainz extends lead
Triple Dakar Rally champion Carlos Sainz stretched his overall lead as closest French rival Sebastien Loeb lost his way in the Saudi Arabian desert.
While Mattias Ekstrom won the 458km eighth stage from Al Duwadimi to Ha'il in an Audi one-two with Stephane Peterhansel, team mate Sainz finished fourth in the car category to go nearly 25 minutes clear.
The 61-year-old father of the Ferrari Formula One driver and namesake, had seen his lead trimmed by Loeb to 19 minutes on Sunday.
"I think there's still a long way for me and there are long stages to come," said the Spaniard.
"You can see how easy it is to lose five or 10 minutes on this race. It's so easy, due to navigation, punctures, everything. It's very stressful."
Loeb, driving a Prodrive Hunter for the Bahrain Raid Xtreme team, was 10th fastest after a navigation error added five km to his route.
"It was a difficult day today. We had a good stage. I was really pushing hard all through the stage, but we made a mistake with the navigation and lost around 10 minutes," said Loeb.
This year's event has turned into a duel between Sainz and Loeb, a nine times world rally champion who has yet to win the Dakar, with Qatar's reigning champion Nasser Al-Attiyah out of contention along with Ekstrom and Peterhansel.
The rally finishes in Yanbu on Friday.
In the motorcycle category, overshadowed by the death of Falcon, American Honda rider Ricky Brabec increased his lead over Botswana's Ross Branch to 42 seconds.
The leading pair had been separated by just a second on Sunday night.
Argentine brothers Kevin and Luciano Benavides finished first and second in the stage.
- Reuters