The death of the French motorcyclist Pierre Cherpin has cast a shadow over the Dakar 2021, which has reached its epilogue today, with the victory of the French Stéphane Peterhansel (Mini) in the cars and the Argentine Kevin Benavides (Honda) in the motorcycles.
Cherpin, 52, in his fourth participation in the dakar, riding a Husqvarna, had fallen during the seventh stage, on 10 January, sustaining serious head injuries.
The motorcyclist died while traveling by air to Lille, France, where he should have undergone a new surgery after the one performed in Jeddah.
The Cherpin tragedy reopens the recurring theme of the safety of the Dakar which over the years has marked the death of 31 pilots and co-drivers (including 22 motorcyclists; including Fabrizio Meoni in 2005 and Giampaolo Marinoni in 1986).
The parallel toll is also heavy: 45 deaths among match assistants, technicians, spectators and spectators.
Cherpin is the 76th victim of the Dakar curse, which has lasted since the first edition, in '79.
In 2020, motorcyclists Paulo Goncalves and Edwin Strawer lost their lives.
The previous tragedy dates back to 2016, a spectator victim.
The news of Cherpin's death comes on the last day, with Peterhansel's successes in cars and Benavides in motorcycles.
The first, among the protagonists from the first stage, is a veteran of the great race, held this year in Saudi Arabia, with start and finish in Jeddah.
Together with co-driver Édouard Boulanger, in the last stage the Frenchman resisted the attacks of the most accredited rivals in the classification, especially Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota), obtaining his eighth overall triumph at the Dakar in the car category and his 14th title absolute.
Furthermore, "Mister Dakar" triumphed 30 years after his first crown on a motorcycle.
In the final car classification, Pterhansel preceded Al-Attiyah and the Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Mini), winner of today's stage.
In motorcycles the last test went to the American Ricky Brabec (Honda) who preceded Benavides at the finish line, and then the Austrian Matthias Walkner.
The result in both cars and motorbikes was uncertain until the end.
In the final classification Benavides preceded Brabec and the British Sunderland on Ktm