JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — A Dakar Rally racer who was badly injured after crashing his motorbike has died aboard a medical flight from Saudi Arabia to France, race organizers said Friday.
Pierre Cherpin died while being transported from Jeddah to Lille on Thursday night, four days after his crash during the seventh stage from Ha’il to Sakaka.
The 52-year-old Frenchman was found unconscious after the crash and the medical report revealed “serious head trauma.”
Cherpin underwent surgery in Sakaka and was kept in an induced coma before being airlifted to a hospital in Jeddah, organizers said.
“The entire Dakar caravan would like to extend its sincere condolences to his family, relatives and friends,” the race said in a statement.
Cherpin had described himself as an amateur interested not in podium finishes but rather outdoor adventures, the statement said.
He was 77th in the general standings after six stages. This was his fourth Dakar Rally.
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