The first stage of the rally “Dakar” was canceled for security reasons – RBC

The first stage of the rally “Dakar” was canceled for safety reasons

The first stage of the rally “Dakar-2016″ canceled For safety reasons due to bad weather conditions, the official site of the rally.

Step had to go in Sunday, January 3 in the area between the Argentine city of Rosario and Villa Carlos Paz. All day in the area were heavy rains.

The head of the Russian team “KAMAZ-master” the seven-time winner of the “Dakar” Victor Chagin said that the organizers did the right thing by canceling stage.

“In this case, the case in weather conditions – heavy rains, it becomes a problem for the participants, for helicopters, for the technology. It’s really not safe. Generally, in principle, it was said that there would be heavy rainfall at this “Dakar”, – quotes Chagin « R-Sport ».

On the eve of the prologue the rally was interrupted after the accident SUV . At around 6.6 km of the machine the first ever “Dakar” participants of the Chinese Guo Meiling left the road and crashed into spectators, leaving ten people injured.

According to the AP referring to the physician of the hospital of Santa Francisca de Arresifes in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, Daniel Modesto, among them there are four children and a pregnant woman. A child and a grown man in serious condition. The child was taken to hospital by plane, a man – an ambulance.

Because the incident the organizers decided to cancel the race trucks. By the time of the accident the prologue, a small special stage length of 11 km, time to finish motorcyclists kvadrotsiklisty and part of the crew in the SUV class.

This year’s “Dakar” will be held on the territory of Argentina and Bolivia, and completed on January 16 in Rosario. The distance of the marathon will be nine thousand kilometers, participation in it will be 350 vehicles – SUVs, motorcycles, quads and trucks.

In the class of SUVs for the victory will fight nine time world champion in rallying Frenchman Sebastien Loeb and Finn Mikko Hirvonen, four times the Vice-champion of the world. Also in this class it serves Russian Vladimir Vasilyev «Toyota».

The competition will present the Russian truck team “KAMAZ-master”. At the start there are crews Ayrat Mardeeva, Andrew Karginova, Eduard Nikolayev and Dmitry Sotnikov. In offset ATV advocates Sergey Karjakin.

“Dakar» ( before “Paris-Dakar”) It was founded in 1978. Until 2009, the race is finished or started in the capital of Senegal – Dakar. After the scandal with the abolition of “Dakar-2008» of the threat of terrorist acts in the competition were postponed indefinitely in South America.