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Former Dakar Champ Fights for Life

2K views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  Mad Mike 
#1 ·
Off the wire from AAP

Japan's former Dakar Rally champion Kenjiro Shinozuka has been put on a life support machine after suffering head and other serious injuries in a crash during Friday's eighth stage.

The 54-year-old Nissan driver will be transferred to Tunis later on Friday and then to Paris "when his condition has stabilised", organisers said.

His French co-driver Thierry Delli Zotti was in a satisfactory condition and was to be transferred with Shinozuka for a scan.

The accident occurred some 373km into the marathon 727km stage, the longest in this year's Rally, between Ghat and Sabha in Libya.

The car went out of control on a series of hill jumps in the dunes and rolled over.

"The two men were evacuated by medical helicopter towards the Rally medical centre at Sabha," organisers said.

"From there, once their condition stabilises they will be taken to Tunis by helicopter."

Shinozuka, who won the rally in 1997 and was third last year, had been in third position overall in the car section going into Thursday's stage, 51 minutes 20 seconds behind leader Stephane Peterhansel of France.

Source: AAP


Date published: Jan 10, 2003
 
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#5 ·
More bad news from Dakar ...

While Shinozuka is reported out of danger this piece from iwon.com shares some sobering news:

French driver killed in Paris-Dakar rally
Jan 11, 12:18 PM (ET)

PARIS (AP) - A French co-driver died after an accident during Saturday's stage of the Dakar Rally in Libya, organizers said.
Bruno Cauvy, 48, was dead when doctors arrived at the crash site by helicopter less than half an hour after organizers were informed of the accident.

The car's lead driver, Daniel Nebot, wasn't injured in the crash, about 165 miles into the stage between Zilla and Sarir.

Nebot and Cauvy were in 63rd place before Saturday's 326-mile stage, won by Japanese driver Hiroshi Masuoka.

The Dakar Rally began Jan. 1 in the southern French port city of Marseille. It is scheduled to end in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Jan. 19.

Japanese driver Kenjiro Shinozuka was seriously injured Thursday when his car flipped over during the rally's eighth stage. The 54-year-old former Dakar Rally champion was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Tunisia, with facial and other injuries. Organizers said he was out of danger.


Halley ...
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