Since its inception, in 1978, the Paris Dakar has witnessed it’s a fair share of tragedy. A path of man and machine through decades of arguably some of the toughest Rally Raid, and at times filled with shattered dreams and lost lives. The forty-two-year-old event has tallied over seventy deaths directly related to the race. With founder Thierry Sabine amongst the most notorious when his Ecureuil helicopter was caught off guard by a sand-storm and crashed into a dune during a stage in Mali on the fourteenth of January, 1986. Up to date, twenty-one of the twenty-nine competitors that have given the race their all were motorcyclists. A testament to their commitment, fearlessness, and spirit when competing for the top honors in the world’s most famous Rally Raid event.
This year has unfortunately seen yet another tragedy unfold in this long history of man and machine pitted against themselves, each other, and the elements. Portuguese veteran rider of thirteen Dakar’s, Paulo Goncalves, passed away after crashing 171 mi / 275 km into the 339 mi / 545 km’s of the Riyadh to Wadi Al Dawasir stage that formed part of the first Dakar Rally held in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Having gone into cardiac arrest after the crash, Paulo was airlifted by a medical helicopter to Layla, where he was later pronounced dead.
“The decease of Paulo Goncalves during today’s stage seven between Riyadh and Wadi Al-Dawasir has left the entire Dakar, especially the bikers, in shock. Paulo, a beloved figure of the rally, was immensely respected by both veterans and less experienced competitors who admired and were inspired by him. After meeting the riders and making a decision together with the entire motorbike family, the organizers have decided to cancel stage eight for the motorbikes and quads category, which was supposed to take place on a loop course around Wadi Al-Dawasir. In order to give the riders time to mourn their friend. The entire Dakar family will come together to pay tribute to Paulo at the briefing this evening.” An official statement from the rally organizers read.
Goncalves was born on 5 February 1979, in Germeses, a civil parish of Esposende in Portugal. During his career, he won twenty-three titles in enduro, motocross, and supercross. Most notably his victory in the 2013 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship along with his second place overall on an HRC Rally Honda in the 2015 Dakar held in South America.
His Dakar career did, however, span several marques. Racing for the Honda team from 2006 to 2009, from 2010 to 2012, he was with the BMW-owned Husqvarna Motorcycles team and again with Honda from 2013 to 2019. He’d even been part of KTM during his long career. For 2020 however, he’d made the leap to the Indian based HERO team. “It’s sad, but we all felt that we all needed to take some space to grieve our friend and team-mate.” A spokesperson from the team was quoted as saying. The team also withdraw from the remainder of the 2020 Dakar.
The team at ADVroad.com salutes Paulo Goncalves for his endearing spirit and sportsmanship. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family and fellow team members. May you rest in peace Paulo.
Edit: Motorcyclist Edwin Straver, forty eight, has also passed away due to cardiac arrest after a crash at the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia. The Dutch motorcyclist crashed 77 mi / 124 kms into stage 11 on the 16th of January and suffered the cardiac arrest before being to airlifted to hospital in Riyadh. Straver had been competing in his third Dakar Rally, in the Original by Motul class dedicated to unassisted competitors, that he had won the year before in South America.
Straver was repatriated to his home country where after a consultation with his family his life support was turned off and he died on Friday, 24th of January. Our condolences go out to his family and friends.
All Images copyright and credit to Dakar Rally / A.S.O. DPPI 2020
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