Magical and damned, brutal and tragic, epic also because it is characterized by a long trail of blood. The Dakar confirms itself as a hellish rally, which puts lives at risk and sometimes takes them away. Even the first edition on Arab soil, on the sands of Saudi Arabia, does not make any concessions by lengthening a list that fortunately had stopped being updated since 2015. This time fate turned its back on Portuguese motorcyclist Paulo Gonçalves, 40, of the Hero Motorsports Team Rally team, who was the victim of a fall in the seventh stage, at kilometre 276. The Portuguese rider, at his thirteenth participation in the Dakar, went into cardiorespiratory arrest and initial attempts to revive him at the scene of the accident were in vain. Transported by helicopter to Layla Hospital, he was pronounced dead. Reigning Dakar champion Toby Price was one of the first to arrive at the scene of the accident to help with the rescue effort, which resulted in him losing more than an hour in the standings. In the official statement, the organizers explained that they were notified at 10.08 and arrived on site by helicopter at 10.16. However, Gonçalves had already lost consciousness. He made his debut in 2006 and finished in the top 10 four times, with a best result of second place behind Spaniard Marc Coma in 2015. During his career, the Portuguese driver was world champion of cross-country rallies in 2013 and was known throughout the motorsport environment. After yesterday's sixth stage, Gonçalves was in 46th place overall due to a problem he had in the early stages with an engine failure. The entire Dakar caravan wanted to "extend its sincere condolences to his friends and family" and the organizers have decided not to hold the mourning stage scheduled for tomorrow. They called him “Speedy” for his speed and his desire to never give up, one of the few motorcyclists who competed in the Dakar in Africa, South America and all the way to Saudi Arabia. The irresistible call of this race that has become a legend is also closely linked to its tragedies: 29 participants have lost their lives since the Dakar was first held in 1979. And twenty of these are motorcyclists. The first was the Frenchman Patrick Dodin, the last the Polish Michal Hernik, 39 years old, who died during the third stage, 220 km long, of the Dakar in Argentina in 2015. Ten years before the death of the Italian motorcyclist Fabrizio Meoni, winner of the 2001 and 2002 editions. The 47-year-old champion from Castiglion Fiorentino, riding a KTM, also suffered cardiac arrest during the 11th stage after a fall in Mauritania. Another Italian motorcyclist died in 1986, Giampaolo Marinoni from Bergamo: about 40 km from the finish line of the last stage, the Sali Portudal-Dakar, he fell on an almost entirely sandy course but managed to restart and finish the race in thirteenth place in the general classification. That same evening he was admitted to hospital due to feeling unwell from the fractures he had suffered and the damage to his liver. Operated on site, he died two days later. A cursed race that also cost the life of its founder Thierry Sabine who, during the African edition in 1986, fell with a helicopter (with him four other people including the pilot Xavier Francois Bagnoud). Today's motorcycle stage was won by the Spanish Honda rider Joan Barreda who preceded the Austrian Matthias Walkner (Ktm) by 2'54″ and the Argentine Luciano Benavides by 3'25”. In the general classification, American Ricky Brabec (Honda) retains the lead. In the cars, another victory for Carlos Sainz (Mini) ahead of Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota) with Stephane Peterhansel, also in a Mini, third. The former Spanish rally champion has extended his lead in the overall standings with a 10-minute lead over Al-Attiyah, with Peterhansel following nine minutes behind.
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