Rosario, Argentina - Poor weather has forced the cancellation of Sunday's Dakar Rally opening stage because of safety concerns, a day after 10 people were injured, five of them seriously, when a competitor’s car crashed into spectators.
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Thunderstorms and heavy rain prompted organisers to scrap the scheduled 662km route from Rosario to Villa Carlos Paz, with the conditions grounding safety helicopters and leaving parts of the course flooded.
Race director Etienne Lavigne explained: "The Dakar doesn't stop when it rains - only when it's not possible to guarantee the normal security presence for the rally.
"The weather conditions are very bad. The relay plane (which helps with radio communications) was unable to fly. Helicopters can't take off. The situation isn't going to improve in terms of visibility."
The first stage was scheduled with a 258km timed special for cars and a 227km section for motorcycles; instead the entire field travelled to Cordoba under liaison section conditions.
DISASTROUS PROLOGUE
Chinese driver Guo Meiling's X-Raid Mini veered off the course at the 6.6km mark of the 11km prologue on a stretch of straight country road near Arrecifes, a small town 200km from the capital, Buenos Aires.
Race directors immediately despatched four medical helicopters, three medical vehicles belonging to the organisers and eight local ambulances to the scene of the accident.
The crash left Guo's car battered, its bonnet lying on the ground, as emergency workers carted the injured off on stretchers.
Daniel Modesto, head of the local hospital, said: "In total, we had 10 patients, including four children and one pregnant woman, who is OK."
Carlos Mondino, the health secretary of Arrecifes, said a 34-year-old man and his 10-year-old son were the two most serious cases, with one suffering head injuries and the other chest trauma; they were later transferred to a hospital at Pilar, 50km from Buenos Aires,and underwent surgery overnight.
Lavigne later said both were in a "stable condition", but added that the condition of a third man "deteriorated in the night" with doctors offering a "guarded prognosis".
The crash saw the prologue - which took place ahead of Sunday's first stage - "neutralised" and immediately suspended.
Between 50 000 and 60 000 people were expected along the route of the prologue. An inquiry was opened by local authorities with the Chinese team to be questioned by police shortly.
In 2015, Polish motorcycle rider Michal Hernik died at the end of a stage, but the last accident involving spectators at the Dakar Rally was in 2011, when one person was killed.
BEFORE THE CRASH
All the leading competitors had already completed the prologue before Guo's accident, with Dutchman Bernhard ten Brinke, driving a privately entered Toyota Hilux, recording the fasted time of 6m08s, ahead of Carlos Sainz's Peugeot and Xavier Pons in a Ford Ranger.
Top South African entry Giniel de Villiers, in the Toyota Gazoo Racing SA Hilux, finished a safe eighth, nine seconds behind the leaders.
"These short stages are tricky," he said. "If you push too hard, you can lose the race before it even starts. At the same time, you need to make sure that you don't lose too much time to the leaders. To me, anywhere in the top 10 was ideal."
Yazeed al Rajhi in the second Gazoo Hilux lost time in a water crossing near the start and finished 21st, 25 seconds behind Ten Brinke, while Leeroy Poulter came up behind Brazilian Guilherme Spinelli's Mitsubishi barely two kilometres into the stage after Spinelli had taken a wrong turn. Poulter was stuck in the Mitsubishi's dust right to the end of the prologue, losing 29 seconds in the process.
"We could've gone so much faster," said Poulter afterwards, "but this is the Dakar and things like this are all part of the race. Nevertheless, it does leave us with a bit of work to do over the next few days."
Spanish rider Joan Barreda Bort put up the fastest time in the motorcycle category, while Brian Baragwanath posted the seventh fastest time in the quad category, 11 seconds behind stage-winner Ignacio Casale of Chile.
AFP
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