This is why the Dakar Rally remains one of the world’s most dangerous sporting events
It no longer goes to Dakar (this is in fact the seventh year that the ‘Dakar Rally’ has been held in South America) but the fearsome race remains very dangerous for the competitors.
This year’s race has already claimed the life of Polish bike rider Michal Hernik, who died of hyperthermia and dehydration on the third stage, not long after the race had set off from Buenos Aires on the 9,00km route.
On the seventh stage of the race the men inside the El Martillo Racing SUV were very fortunate to escape with their lives, as this terrifying footage shows.
While fans and crew attended to another crashed car, the El Martillo SUV comes hurtling past, narrowly missing the crowds as it flips through the air before bursting into flames.
Driver Matt Campbell plus team-mates Luis “Fito” Ramirez and Nico Ambriz had to be checked in a nearby hospital after they crawled from the wreckage but miraculously they were soon discharged.
These two angles, the second one only just released by Fox Sports, give you a good idea of just how lucky they were.
The team posted on their Facebook page afterwards how the accident happened: “At the km 50 marked on the road book of the 7th stage, the first part of the marathon stage, the water crossing where the accident happened was marked as Danger 2, when in fact it should’ve (been a) Danger 4 at least.
“The race car was moving at a speed of 174 km/h (108 mph) when suddenly they found the water cut 5 feet deep… There was not much to do but hang on and resist the crash.”
Here is what is left of the car…
