40th edition - N°11 - When the Dakar took on water! - Dakar 2018

For the first time in its history, the Paris-Dakar crossed the equator for this edition that led the competitors to the southern tip of the African Continent, with the finish line situated in Cape Town, South Africa. In the late stages of this edition, the rally continued on with a collective heavy heart following the death of Gilles Lalay, who was killed in a road accident on a liaison sector in the Congo. A few days later in Namibia, the race was blocked in the middle of a stage by a rising river. The first to arrive at the spot, like Stéphane Peterhansel, tried their luck and just barely made their way out. But it wasn’t the case for American Danny Laporte on his Cagiva, that had to be pulled from the river by Gilbert Sabine’s helicopter, who decided to neutralize the race.