MADRID, 12 Jan. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Portuguese rider Paulo Gonçalves (Hero MotoSports) has died this Sunday at age 40, after being the victim of a fall during the seventh stage of the Dakar Rally, disputed over 546 timed kilometers between the cities of Riyadh and Wadi Al Dawasir (Saudi Arabia) .
“Paulo Gonçalves, pilot of the # 8 motorcycle, has been the victim of a fall this morning, at the height of km 276 of the special of the day. Alerted at 10h08, the organization has sent a medical helicopter that has landed at 10h16 in the place where the unconscious pilot was, with a cardiorespiratory arrest, “said the organization of the Dakar through a press release.
“After an attempt of resuscitation 'in situ', the pilot has been evacuated to the hospital of Layla where, unfortunately, the death has been confirmed,” added the note, regarding a motorist who disputed his thirteenth Dakar.
“He had made his debut in the rally in 2006, finishing four times in the 'top 10' and achieving a brilliant second, behind Marc Coma in 2015,” he recalled the organization of the race. In addition, Gonçalves was world champion in off-road rally in 2013.
In this 2020 edition of the Dakar, the Portuguese occupied 46th place in the general classification at the end of the sixth stage. “The entire caravan of the Dakar wants to present his deepest condolences to his family, friends and relatives,” the text concluded.