Today’s Stage 10 of the Dakar Rally has been especially hard on motorcyclists. In addition to Simon Marcic, who collided with Stéphane Peterhansel earlier today, two riders have withdrawn from the rally due to injury—both of whom were among the top three riders of the rally.
The second rider of the day to retire after Marcic was Husqvarna rider Pablo Quintanilla, who fell from his bike while in second place overall. Quintanilla was later diagnosed with head trauma and a loss of consciousness, per rally officials.
After Quintanilla’s surprise withdrawal from the rally, KTM rider third place finisher on Stage 10 Stefan Svitko had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance after struggling with exhaustion after the competition part of the stage. Svitko made it only a few kilometers on the link part of the stage before collapsing, per the Dakar Rally’s live feed.
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It is unclear whether or not Svitko will make it to tomorrow’s stage, however, Quintanilla definitely appears to be out of the rally given the nature of his injury.
Honda rider Joan Barreda Bort currently leads the rally on motorcycle. Today’s stage went from Chilecito to San Juan, across Argentina. Let’s hope no more drop out from the front, or from anywhere else. Dakar’s tough.
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