Dakar – Dakar motorcycle 2013: death of Thomas Bourgin, 25 years old –

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Dakar motorcycle 2013: death of Thomas Bourgin, 25 years old

Dakar - Dakar motorcycle 2013: death of Thomas Bourgin, 25 years old -

Thomas Bourgin, the youngest French driver on the 2013 Dakar (he had just celebrated his 25th birthday on December 23), has just been found dead after a fall on the handlebars of his KTM 450 Rally Replica n ° 106.

Thomas Bourgin, the youngest French driver on the 2013 Dakar (he had just celebrated his 25th birthday on December 23), has just been found dead after a fall on the handlebars of his KTM 450 Rally Replica n ° 106.

According to the first elements communicated by the organization, Thomas was "the victim of a fatal traffic accident this morning at 8:23 am at kilometer 237 of the liaison route which was to lead him to the start of the day’s special, on the climb to the Cordillera, Chile side ". He is said to have collided with an oncoming Chilean rifle car, but "the exact circumstances of the accident are under investigation".

The 2013 Dakar in mourning again

This Dakar 2013 had already been in mourning on Wednesday with the death of two people in an accident involving an assistance vehicle carrying three passengers and two taxis, one with six people on board and the other four..

Two of the occupants of the first taxi, including the driver, were killed while seven others were injured (four Peruvians and the three passengers of the assistance vehicle).

Originally from Saint-Etienne (42), Thomas had discovered the rally raid during the Rallye du Maroc in 2009. In 2011, after two days in the Africa Race, he broke his pelvis but still managed to finish the race in 4th position. A few months later, he finished 7th on the Rally of Tunisia 2011 by winning the Enduro Cup category. This week he was competing in his very first Dakar and was this morning in the 68th scratch place…

His last audio message

In his last one left last night on his blog, before setting off to attack the Andes Cordillera to go to Argentina, Thomas explains that it is "a little more complicated in recent days", even if everything is going well for him and the motorcycle. He only slept for 3h30 following the change of time and has just inquired about a big day of 700 km including 200 at night with a departure at 4 a.m…. 

"The very principle of rally raid attracts me, and particularly the need to manage an incalculable number of parameters", explained Thomas before the start: "in each race, we get to know each other a little better. managed to know the best, but I also suffered all types of glitches. Since 2011, I have been able to control the excitement better. The Dakar worries me, and I am always a little anxious to miss something in my preparation, for example. But I’m going there to learn, and to realize my dream. I want to have a party in Santiago, I don’t have a ranking objective "…
 
The entire Site team joins in the grief of his family and loved ones…

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