dyton mupawaenda
Collin Matiza–Sports Editor
ZIMBABWE’S Ashley Thixton has said competing in this year’s Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia has taught him some invaluable lessons in life, especially following the death of Spanish motorcycle rider Carles Falcon on Monday.
Falcon died more than a week after crashing in the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia, his team said on Monday.
Falcon, 45, had been in an induced coma since he was flown to hospital in Riyadh, and then back to Spain, after falling 448km into the second stage on January 7 from Al Henakiyah to Al Duwadimi.
And reminiscing about his journey at this year’s Dakar Rally so far where he has managed to survive the first eight stages going into yesterday’s Stage 9, Thixton said he will never want to “forget how appreciative I am of this experience”.
“After completing eight stages, and being with my fellow @dakarrally competitors in mourning the loss of a Dakar brother (Falcon) tonight — I never want to forget how appreciative I am of this experience.
“It has taught me so much. I would also like to thank my team @htrallyraid who have also made it possible for me to take on each stage by the horns, they have spent many a late night fixing and servicing my bike.
“So many thoughts, so many emotions . . . let’s make these last 4 stages count,” Thixton said ahead of yesterday’s Stage 9 in which he came out in 46th position.”
For this Dakar, he trained with Ross Branch of Botswana, who is currently 2nd in the general rankings in the bike category.
The Zimbabwean biker has managed to hold his own in the world’s toughest and biggest motor rallying event and on Monday he came home safely to keep his hopes of being among the finishers on Friday very much alive.
Stage 8 took the teams from Al Duwadimi to the city of Ha’il. The stage started with a liaison of 125km, linking the bivouac with the start of the stage. Next up was a timed section of 458km, which included a long transfer at restricted speeds, before the crews completed a final liaison of 95km to bring them to Ha’il.
“With only three days left of the Dakar 2024, there are still some difficult quick rails ahead. If we’ve learned one thing from the Dakar field times, held for the 46th time, it is that anything, anytime, can happen!”
Thixton was still in the mix going into yesterday’s Stage 9.
Race director David Castera told reporters that Carles , who was competing in the en-durance event for the second time after finishing 68th in 2022, had lacked a pulse but was resuscitated by the first doctor to arrive on the scene.
“Carles has left us. The medical team has confirmed that the neurological damage caused by the cardiorespiratory arrest at the time of the accident is irreversible,” the TwinTrail Racing team said in a statement on Instagram.
“Carles was a smiling person, always active, who passionately enjoyed everything he did, especially motorbikes. He has left us doing something that was his dream, racing the Dakar.”
Dakar organisers expressed their condolences to his family and friends.
“It was with great sadness that we learned of the death of Spanish rider Carles Falcon from his family,” they said in a statement.
Falcon, from Tarragona, was competing in the unassisted bikers category.
The gruelling event, being held entirely in Saudi Arabia for the fifth time, has claimed many lives since the first Paris-Dakar rally was held in 1978. Falcon was the 33rd competitor to die, but first since 2022.
Last year’s only fatality was a 69-year-old Italian spectator, Livio Sassinotti, who was hit by a truck while taking photographs behind a sand dune.
Yesterday’s Stage 9 was a day of complete advantage for the Honda factory team — yesterday its riders Frenchman Adrien van Beveren, American Ricky Brabec and Chilean Pabo Quintanilla took the first three positions on the special stage! Thus, Honda has already won the prologue and six stages out of nine at this Dakar.
There were two major changes in the overall standings. Firstly, leader Ricky Brabec (Honda) extended his lead over Botswana’s Ross Branch (Hero) to seven minutes. It is interesting that Brabec has not yet won a single special stage at this Dakar. Secondly, the battle for third position continues between teammates from Honda — yesterday Adrien van Beveren again took this position from José Ignacio Cornejo.
Stage 9 (moto)
1. Van Beveren (Honda)
2. Brabec (Honda) +0:42
3. Quintanilla (Honda) +4:29
4. Price (KTM) +6:44
5. Branch (Hero) +7:09
Overall (moto)
1. Brabec (Honda)
2. Branch (Hero) +7:09
3. Van Beveren (Honda) +11:16
4. Cornejo (Honda) +13:46
5. Benavides K. (KTM) +28:02
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