Dakar Rally: it has not started and they report the first death, mourning in the caravan

The king of endurance rallies begins this Friday in Al Ula (Saudi Arabia) with a new category, Mission 1000which seeks to make a Dakar more sustainable, but with sad news.

The first week will be hellish for the pilots, who will finish the first eight days of competition in the largest dune desert of the Arabian Peninsula, the Empty Quarteran empty and inhospitable place that will create problems for both the inexperienced and those who have already been in the race for a few years.
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Regrettable

The Qatari pilot Nasser Al-Attiyahcurrent champion of the Dakar in cars, assured that he gives “three days” to the Audi drivers, in reference to the Spaniard Carlos Sainz and the french Stephane Peterhansel, and that later “they will go home”, as “has already been seen in Morocco and Aragon”, due to possible reliability problems of the German hybrid vehicle.

Precisely, the Qatari is one of those who has most regretted the death of René Metge, triple champion of the Dakar, legend of the race, who won in 1981 with land rover and those of 1984 and 1986 with Porsche.

In addition, he was the director of Dakar in the 1987 and 88 editions and also raced in Le Mans.

Metge died at the age of 82 due to a stroke. was born on October 23, 1941 in Montrouge (France) and he was one of the most successful drivers in the category.

“In addition to his driving skills, he also stood out for his great organizational skills. He was the founder of the Africa Eco Race with Jean Louis Schlesser. Precisely, the organization and competitors of the Africa Eco Race learned of the news in the middle of this edition, this Wednesday,” reported the Spanish newspaper Sport.
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