They were airlifted to Mali for today’s 13th stage but despite time to contemplate events, Meoni’s death is still troubling many of the riders.
Isidre Esteve, who lies third overall, witnessed the fatal crash and still finds it hard to believe it claimed the life of one of the Dakar Rally’s greatest riders.
He said: “It was an incredible accident because we sometimes are really fast in the desert without taking any risk. But we were all riding together, slowly because navigation was very difficult.
“Fabrizio fell right in front of me and I was sure that nothing serious had happened. Unfortunately it was not like that.
“We asked for a rest day as a sign of respect towards Fabrizio and also for ourselves because we are not in condition to race. Eventually everybody understood.”
Former bike champion Joan Roma, who now competes for Mitsubishi in the car class, was critical of the route of this year’s event in the wake of Meoni’s death.
“This Dakar is no
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Updates
Go to: New entries | Editions | Deletions
New entries
| Ted Stevens - new entry | | | Entered on: 20.Mar.2017 | | | Year of death: 1953 | | | Race: St. Austell vs. Plymouth |
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| Bob Collins - new entry | | | Entered on: 19.Mar.2017 | | | Year of death: 1948 | | | Race: St. Austell Motor Club's Speedway Meeting |
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| Alois Gross - new entry | | | Entered on: 12.Mar.2017 | | | Year of death: 1950 | | | Race: |
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| Anthony Delhalle - new entry | | | Entered on: 10.Mar.2017 | | | Year of death: 2017 | | | Race: |
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| Gavin Ramsay - new entry | | | Entered on: 05.Mar.2017 | | | Year of death: 2017 | | | Race: 16th Passion for Speed International Historic Race Meeting - SA TT pre-1989 Motorcycle Race |
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| Ronnie Tree - new entry | | | Entered on: 03.Mar.2017 | | | Year of death: 2013 | | | Race: |
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Editions
Frank Batema  • Dakar’s greatest motorcycle rivalsFollowing the retirement from racing offive-time Dakar winner Marc Comaand Cyril Despres's switch to cars, we're guaranteed a new winner in the Bike category of the 2016 Dakar Rally. But it also marks an end to one of the greatest rivalries in Dakar Rally history, that saw two true greats of the sport battle it out for a decade to finish on top. Hopefully we'll see some great drama from a new generation of riders, led by Joan Barreda, Matthias Walkner, Toby Price, Paolo Gonçalves, Hélder Rodrigues, Rubén Faria, David Casteu, Olivier Pain, Jordi Viladoms and Pablo Quintanilla, when the 2016 race kicks-off on January 2 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In the meantime though, let's look back at some of the greatest rivalries ever seen in the bike category at the Dakar Rally... Hubert Auriol vs Gaston RahierThe first truly great rivalry was in the 1984 Dakar, when Gaston Rahier squared off aganst defending champion Hubert Aurio
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