The last day of the Dakar should always be a moment of celebration, fun and relief for having achieved one’s goals or, at least, for the adventure experienced. But the race was once again struck by grief due to an unexpected death during the final kilometers of the transfer that the teams had to complete to get to the final stage in Jeddah.
Quentin Lavalée, chief mechanic of the emblematic Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 # 726 that the PH Sport team had managed to bring back to the Dakar Classic, died of injuries sustained in a car accident at km 234 of the route planned for assistance, which was of about 500 km today.
The accident occurred at 11:30 local time (9:30 in Italy) and, according to the authorities, involved the assistance vehicle and a local truck. The deceased mechanic was 20 years old and his co-driver, Belgian Maxime Frère, was taken to the National Guard hospital in Jeddah, where he will undergo tests to determine the extent of his injuries. At first there was talk of thoracic and abdominal contusions.
The accident comes at the end of an edition that had already been marked by the explosion of an assistance vehicle of the Sodicars team on December 30, in which the pilot Philippe Boutron was seriously injured in the legs and which had also forced to strengthen the safety around the race. The French and Saudi authorities are still conducting an investigation to determine the cause of the explosion.
Motorsport.com/Autosport would like to send condolences to all of Lavalée’s family and friends.
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