The first stage of the Dakar Rally was full of dangerous situations and its final results are likely to be verified. The winner of Friday's prologue, Spanish motorcyclist Tosha Shareina, suffered a serious crash and Macage Giemza was the first to help the other two competitors.
Shareina fell on the 240th kilometer of the special stage. It turned out that the Spaniard had to withdraw from the rally due to a shoulder injury. A motorcyclist from the Orléans team witnessed this situation and was the first to help two other competitors – Joaquim Rodríguez from Puerto Rico and Michael Docherty from South Africa, who also had to withdraw from the rally.
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Organizers said Shereina's supporting competitors included South Africa's Ross Branch, who was leading the stage at the time and was likely to be crowned the stage winner, although American Ricky Brabeck had the best time at the finish line. . Time spent helping colleagues should also be deducted from Giemsa's final score.
The car competition did not pass without problems either. The start of this class was delayed by an hour due to a fan hitting him at the beginning of the scene and being airlifted to the hospital. Among others on the route are Krzysztof Holowczyk and co-driver Lukasz Kurzeja, who finished sixth in Friday's prologue.
Energylandia Orlen Team crews competing in the Chechen class are also still in the race. On Friday, Erik Govala was the fastest, ahead of his uncle Michal.
The first stage is from al-Ula to al-Hinaqiyyah. Its length is 541 km, of which 414 km is a special section.
AA, PAP
