• Tools:
• Save |
• Print |
• E-mail |
• Most Popular |

Dakar champion Coma crashes out

Adjust font size:

DAKAR, Senegal (Reuters) -- Spanish motorcycle rider Marc Coma blew his chances of a second successive Dakar Rally win on Friday when he lost his way in the desert, hit a tree and knocked himself unconscious.

The runaway leader was picked up by a medical helicopter just 57km into the 13th stage from Kayes to Tambacounda in Senegal, coming round at the bivouac before being flown to hospital in Dakar for further examination of a head injury.

Until then, Coma had looked a certainty for victory, enjoying a dominant lead with only one significant timed stage remaining to come on Saturday before Sunday's largely ceremonial final stint at the Lac Rose in Senegal.

In the car category, Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel increased his lead over Mitsubishi team-mate and defending champion Luc Alphand to 11 minutes and 15 seconds. Spaniard Carlos Sainz won the stage for Volkswagen.

Coma's troubles began when the KTM rider seemed most in command. The Dakar Web site said the Spaniard was seen to lose his way.

"Several minutes later, he hit a tree stump on a parallel track six km away from the ideal route and was thrown against a tree," the Web site reported.

It said Coma had stood up initially but then lost consciousness. The helicopter arrived shortly afterwards.

"Marc is hurting a lot but he is okay," said Coma's team manager Jordi Arcarons. "He hasn't broken anything. He's going to have a series of medical examinations in Dakar and then Barcelona.

"The damage to his morale is worse than the physical damage," added Arcarons.

The Spaniard's abrupt exit left the 2005 winner, Frenchman Cyril Despres, in the lead after starting the day almost an hour adrift of Coma.

Despres won the stage and overall he is 35 minutes ahead of compatriot David Casteu, also on a KTM, with American Chris Blais in third place.

It was a bad day for another previously frontrunning Spaniard, Isidre Esteve, who won Thursday's stage and had been sixth overall. The KTM rider fell 500m from the first checkpoint and severely damaged his bike.

"Just before I got to (the first checkpoint) I found Isidre on the ground next to his bike," said Casteu. "He asked me what he was doing there, where he was."

Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more.

---

• Mumbai survivor: It's like a dead man living
• Dawkins: Evangelist an 'idiot' on evolution
• Philippines 'most dangerous' for media
• In holiday tradition, Obama pardons turkey
• Massive icebergs floating towards coast of New Zealand

• Irish PM to quit over payments scandal
• NATO chief: Afghan troop increase likely
• Militants hunted as calm retuns to Basra
• Pressure on Bush to skip Olympics
• BA sending misplaced T5 baggage to Milan

• Recruiting suicide bombers (2:50)
• London was lucky (2:36)
• Cars in London rigged as bombs (3:48)
• Second explosives-packed car foun (2:32)
• Soviet culture returns (3:47)