The Czech rider, nephew of art, only discovered the tragic news of the accident at the finish line of the ninth stage: “I didn’t see it, it was behind a dune. I will always carry the memory of him with me”
From the dream of winning the Dakar between trucks to the nightmare of a retirement caused by a tragedy. It happened in Ales Loprais after the ninth stage of the raid. The Czech driver, driving his Praga V4S DKR together with navigator Jaroslav Valtr Jr and mechanic Petr Pokora, inadvertently hit the Italian fan Livio Sassinotti, 69, who later died in hospital from the consequences of the impact. The incident shocked Loprais to the point of prompting him to stop his race, despite leading his category.
explanation
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Ales hadn’t noticed the accident during the race. Only at the end of the ninth stage did he receive the tragic news: “At the bivouac the Dakar commissioners showed us a video of an accident during the race: we accidentally hit a man who was taking a picture of us behind a dune. A human life was extinguished indirectly through my fault, because I was driving”. Loprais points out: “My team and I knew nothing of what happened: the fan, unfortunately, was behind a dune. We haven’t seen it at all, none of us.” A version confirmed by on-board videos and external films. However this was not enough for the Czech to convince him to continue the race.
give up
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Loprais dreamed of winning the Dakar in his category, following in the footsteps of his uncle Karel, six times king of the raid in the truck category. A goal within reach until the moment of tragedy. But Ales decided to interrupt his journey before the tenth stage, remaining at the disposal of the authorities for further investigations: “I want to express my sincere condolences to Livio’s family and friends. I am very sorry for this incident and the memory of him will accompany me for the rest of my life ”.
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