Sensitive souls, go your way! On the Dakar tracks, you can see everything, even the worst with this scene of an off-road car ready to run over a biker competitor after having knocked him down. The scene pits a Chilean pilot thrown from his handlebars against a South African delinquent since the images do seem to betray a hit-and-run... But are appearances deceiving?
However, the safety and warning devices are in the vehicles and the race regulations say that you must come to the aid of a competitor in difficulty, rather than running over them and continuing their journey. Last Monday, on the Dakar, Giniel de Villiers (Toyota Gazoo Racing) received a timid five-minute penalty after hitting the biker César Zumarán from behind when they both found themselves in a narrow passage between stones. Instead of stopping to check on the Chilean's health, de Villiers and his co-pilot resumed their walk and left Zumarán lying on the ground with obvious gestures of pain.
However, with this video which arrived on the web, the matter took on a certain magnitude, forcing the team's driver Toyota clarified what happened. “ During Stage 1 of the Dakar Rally, we were involved in an incident with driver #106. As we were going up a very difficult and steep, narrow and rocky section, our car was moved to the left by a rock , which caused us to hit Driver 106's back, causing him to fall to the ground. There was enough room to its right to pass safely, but unexpectedly our car was moved to the left by a stone », Explains the South African.
Dakar: “ I would like to apologize for not stopping and also for the unfortunate incident”
From Villiers also explains the reason why he and his co-driver decided to continue the special instead of stopping to take care of the Chilean: “ we immediately stopped and backed up. The pilot stood up and waved us through. We then did it safely. We should have stopped to check if he was okay, but because he gave us that gesture, we knew he was okay. I would like to apologize for not stopping and also for the unfortunate incident. Competitor 106 went on to complete the stage and is still in the race. I wish him a safe and successful race ».
