Richard Sainct (14 April 1970 – 29 September 2004) was a French

rally raid Rally raid, also known as cross-country rallying, is a form of long distance off-road racing that takes place over several days. The length of the event can be as short as 2–3 days for a cross-country baja to as long as 15 days with marathon ra ...

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

rider, best known for his three victories on The Paris-Dakar rally in 1999, 2000 and 2003.

Biography

His other notable achievements include winning the Tunisia Rally twice in 1998 and 1999; the Moroccan Rally in 1997, 1998, 2001 and 2002; and the Pharaons Rally in 2002. He also won the

FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backst ...

Rally Raid World Cup in 2002.

Death

He was killed on 29 September 2004 on the fourth stage of the Pharaons Rally in Egypt, Sainct fell and was assisted by the Italian teammate

Fabrizio Meoni Fabrizio Meoni (31 December 1957 – 11 January 2005) was an Italian off-road and rallying motorcycle racer. He was a member of the KTM Factory Team. Biography Meoni was born in Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy. Meoni was married and had two children ...

, who helped him get up and be honest with his condition. To the Tuscan who helped him, Sainct seemed in a light confusion, but insisted on wanting to leave. He resumed the race, with no apparent problems, and stopped at the assistance expected after 211 km of the race. After 270 kilometers of stage Sainct was the victim of a second fall and was found on the ground and already devoid of life. The heartbeat seemed absent when the rescue

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

intervened with a doctor on board. Probably, in the first fall, Sainct reported some internal injury. The

KTM KTM AG (Kraftfahrzeug Trunkenpolz Mattighofen, formerly KTM Sportmotorcycle AG) is an Austrian motorcycle, bicycle and sports car manufacturer owned by Pierer Mobility AG and the Indian manufacturer Bajaj Auto. It was formed in 1992 but traces ...

decided to withdraw all its bikes from the race, but the race director, the former Belgian driver

Jacky Ickx Jacques Bernard "Jacky" Ickx (; born 1 January 1945) is a Belgian former racing driver who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans six times (second-highest of all time) and achieved eight wins and 25 podium finishes in Formula One. He greatly contributed ...

, decided to continue the race.

Rally Dakar

Sainct won 15 stages in his

participations, the complete results are in the ''Dakar Historic Book''.

References

External links

Biker profile
at Parisdakar.it {{DEFAULTSORT:Sainct, Richard 1970 births 2004 deaths Enduro riders French motorcycle racers French rally drivers Motorcycle racers who died while racing Off-road motorcycle racers Sport deaths in Egypt Dakar Rally motorcyclists Dakar Rally winning drivers