7 Jan 2015

Polish rider dies during Dakar rally

2:32 pm on 7 January 2015

Polish motorcycle rider Michal Hernik died this morning while racing in the Dakar Rally in Argentina.

Action during the Rally Dakar 2015

Action during the Rally Dakar 2015 Photo: Photosport

Organisers have released a statement that the 39-year-old's body was found at the 206km mark of the third stage between San Juan and Chilecito in the northwest of the country.

They say the circumstances of his death have not yet been determined and that he showed no sign of having been involved in an accident.

Hernik raced for the KTM team. His body was found 300m from the course.

The 9,000km-long Dakar Rally runs through Argentina, Chile and Bolivia with the finish in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, on January 17th.

Hernik is the fifth competitor to die during racing since the rally came to South America in 2009. It started out as a gruelling and sometimes fatal race from Paris across the Sahara to the Senegalese capital Dakar.