Cruel end: Sainz has to leave the Dakar

The Dakar is epic and suffering. He feeds his legend based on the achievements remembered over time. There are always stories that impress, and one of them was that of Carlos Sainz yesterday, on stage 9. He ended up abandoning it because it was impossible to repair the damage to his car when he arrived at the camp, in a brutal one. way, but he did it fighting until the last second and showed the pride of the best athletes of all time.

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His Dakar will not be remembered for the accident he suffered in stage 6. Other works that increase his figure will be told first. He wanted to continue first and foremost after his crash in a cut dune on stage 6. He stopped to help Ekström on stage 7 to disassemble the pieces of his car and ended up in the desert just to not lose time his Audi teammate. . And yesterday, the game passed. I have no chance to win the Dakar this year, but I want to win the game against the toughest race in the world by reaching the end against all odds. He tried everything. What happened yesterday was the race’s greatest example of a 60-year-old champion not giving up.

Carlos Sainz has set himself the goal of winning “the most stages possible” and in turn, as he told MD, taking advantage of these days, with nothing at stake, to “try things you wouldn’t try if you are fighting. for victory”. He went for it from the beginning of the day. But in the first change, he took his Audi back at km 6 and seemed to be forced to abandon it. A few minutes later, the helicopter took him to the hospital because of “severe chest pain on the right side,” according to the organization in Haradh. However, he did not make it to Riyadh. The ‘Matador’ asked the helicopter to turn around to return him to his car to continue the race! What was not seen.

4 hour wait

The Spaniard jumped on the sand and fell face down on the sand. He ended up leaning over, facing. Sainz was sick and Lucas was unhurt. The Spanish crew turned the car around with the help of three spectators. The car was very touched and it seems that Sainz chose to give up. But once he was in the helicopter, he changed his mind. According to the organization, consulted by MD, “there is nothing written in the regulations that prevents you from competing in the race again if you are in a helicopter.” The car was still there and he took advantage of it to get back. He will overcome the pain.

After 4 hours and 5 minutes, Carlos continued his march and left the special to go to the bivouac by road. It seems the hardest thing is done. Audi had to study the condition of the car to see if they could fix it so Carlos could use his last wild card to rejoin the race on stage 10 today. The doctor also failed to give his ‘ok’ to the man from Madrid.

The car suffered irreversible damage.

Sainz and Lucas are fine. They can continue. The car is not like that. In the video, the accident does not do justice to the large force of the frontal impact the car suffered (27G), so it caused structural damage to the Audi’s carbon fiber monocoque chassis. Irreparable. They had to leave.

All this, after a tremendous effort from Carlos and also from Lucas. To get out of the overturned vehicle, Cruz had to kick the door down and go to the bivouac without him, which was very cold. It did not serve to continue, but it was to show the Dakarian spirit of the same. ‘Matador’ is different. World sports heritage.