Fallen rally riders Richard...
Fallen rally riders Richard Sainct and Fabrizio Meoni
It is a quiet day for the KTM- factory pilots. Only last night, they pushed their bikes, which were all ready, over to the airplanes. Stage 12 has been cancelled in a tribute to Meoni, and the organizers arranged an airlift to Bamako for the motorcycles. The drivers left Kiffa at noon. The difficult decision to continue the rally has been made; KTM team-mates of Fabrizio Meoni have elected to finish the Dakar Rally. "It was not an easy decision," stated a KTM spokesman, "They debated for a long time whether or not to [ride]. They wanted to continue because they thought Fabrizio would have wanted them to."
In the bivouac of Bamako, the motorcyclists are now slowly starting to look into the next stage, the race to Dakar. Jean Brucy, Team KTM Gauloises, says with tears in his eyes: "By all means, we want a "blue one" [KTM Blue] to be on the podium in Dakar. With respect to Richard [Sainct}, we embarked on this rally and we will finish with respects to Fabrizio as well. That is our way of remembrance."
Team mate Alfie Cox adds: "We have been working for this Dakar for one year. I have invested a lot of energy to be among the top drivers. It is our decision to finish the rally. And I am sure that Fabrizio would have accepted this because he was such a great sportsman."
Top rally rider Fabrizio Meoni...
Top rally rider Fabrizio Meoni will be sorely missed.
The drivers of the Team KTM Repsol-Red Bull are thinking likewise. Gio Sala: "I believe that is what he would have wanted us to doto ride to Dakar. We cannot change anything by stopping [the rally]. The only thing that is not working 100&percent; properly anymore is the head; it's not clear anymore. But every rally driver has to live with the risk of something possibly happening. We suppress it though... until it happens to someone we all know."
Scot Harden from Team KTM Red Bull USA talks about the reasons why his team will continue the rally, "Chris, Kellon and I came here to reach Dakar. It is our goal. The boys still need to learn a lot. Among the things they need to learn is how to manage difficult situations.
"For us, Fabrizio symbolized the ideal racing driver. Personally I will always remember his birthday on New Year's Eve. The room was full of balloons and he burst all of them. He was just like a little boy. One wasn't enough for him. He had to burst them all. Whatever he did, he did it properly."
Marc Coma
Spain/KTM/006
"I still can't believe it. It's horrible. There was only one Fabrizio. He was unique. His age! His navigation! For me, he was a reference and will always be. I'm young in this race, being here only three years. He was an example for us. Fabrizio was a 'gentleman'. And now he's gone. We all have to discuss, the bikers, the teams and the organization, to make a good decision. It's very difficult for the moment to find a good solution."
Isidre Esteve
Spain/KTM/007
"It's a very tough situation for all of us. We need to take one more day to make up our minds and know exactly what to do, and what the best solution is. We'll ask the organization to fly us directly to Bamako, to give us more time, then we'll see. I was just behind Fabrizio when he crashedmaybe ten meters behind him. The track wasn't dangerous at that place and we weren't riding very fast at that moment. It's very hard to explain what happened, because his fall wasn't spectacular at all."
David Frétigné
France/Yamaha/012
"I really don't understand what happened. According to me, he was maybe looking at his road instruments. We had just refueled so the bikes were pretty heavy, he maybe lost balance on a small dune with the weight. The scene of the crash wasn't dangerous. We had just lost ourselves and we were looking for the right track. Cyril was on the good track and took off. Fabrizio followed in his dust and 300m later I saw Coma with his hand in the air so I stopped. I immediately knew it was serious. There was a lot of bleeding. I had trouble finding the distress signal and finally launched it. I then waited for the helicopter because I couldn't just leave. I think that we should continue [the rally] for him and for Richard (Sainct)... He would have wanted us to. It was his passion."
This day was a tough one for the mechanics. Due to today's marathon stage the bikes couldn't be touched tonight in the bivouac at Bamako. Therefore the men had to have already made necessary repairs and preparations last night. This morning they started on their long tour through the Sahara. Surely, this trip wasn't an easy one for any of them. Their thoughts were with Fabrizio, with his family and centering on the question: Why? But everyone had to stay focused and concentrated. Wasn't it Heinz Kinigadner's who explained yesterday? "The Dakar is no walk in the park."
Tomorrow is the second part of the marathon stage. It leads for 668 km from Bamako to Kayes. The special runs for 370 kilometers. The riders will need to proof flexibility on the stage. At first speed is important, then the small track crosses through bush land and towards the end of the special a rugged and rocky scenery demands cross-country skills from the drivers.