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Australian Caldecott killed in Dakar Rally
(Agencies)
Updated: 2006-01-10 09:35
KIFFA, Mauritania (AFP) - Australian motorcyclist Andy Caldecott has been
killed in a crash during the ninth stage of the Dakar Rally.
View of the scene where Australia's Andy
Caldecott crashed and died from a fatal neck injury 09 January 2006 during
the ninth stage of the 28th Dakar Rallybetween Nouakchott and Kiffa.
[AFP] | KTM rider Caldecott, who won the third
stage of the Rally from Nador to Er Rachidia in Morocco last Monday, fell 250km
into the 599km stage between Nouakchott and here.
"We learned at 11:57 GMT of the death of Andy Caldecott who fell after
250km," race director Etienne Lavigne said Monday.
"He probably died instantly. We learned of the accident at 11:31 and the
helicopeter landed at 11:55. His death was confirmed at 11:57. Obviously his
family have been informed."
Caldecott becomes the 23rd competitor to die in the Dakar Rally since it
started 28 years ago. Last year two motorcyclists died -- Spain's Juan Manuel
Perez and Italy's Fabrizio Meoni.
Caldecott suffered serious neck injuries in fatal crash, Australian
official says
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) _ Australian motorcyclist Andy Caldecott was on a
high-speed section of the ninth stage of the Dakar Rally when he was killed and
suffered serious neck injuries, a Motorcycling Australia official said Tuesday.
The 41-year-old Caldecott, from the town of Keith in South Australia state,
died after crashing during the stage in Mauritania on Monday.
Motorcycling Australia head David White said races such as the Dakar Rally
were always inherently dangerous, even for riders of Caldecott's experience.
"These events have an element of danger because of the very nature of them,"
he told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio. "They're very, very, high speed,
they're over long distances, and obviously when you fall off a motorcycle at
high speed there's a risk of serious injury.
"He was traveling on a high speed section of the track.
He was traveling, according to the organizers, within the speed limits, but he
had a heavy fall and suffered some serious neck injuries."
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