A rider who was hurt in the Dakar rally
in 1986 has died, possibly due to his injury.
French competitor Jean-Michel Baron
crashed in the Dakar in 1986 and has been in a coma ever since. He
has been cared for at home for most of that time. His wife Jocelyne
said motorcycles "were his life."
Baron was a French motocross champion
in 1980, and in the 1985 Dakar he finished 20th. He died last
Thursday.
Meanwhile, the 2011 Dakar is attracting
competitors so quickly that the entry list has been closed ahead of
schedule and the waiting list is full.
Dakar riders will be restricted to 450
cc engines, which will likely give BMW and Aprilia a decent shot at
taking the rally away from its perennial winner, KTM.
The 2011 rally takes place in South
America, starting on New Year’s Day, 2011, and finishing 15 days
later.
Condolences to this fellow’s family, but, really, he was in a coma for 24 years? I’ve read that after 4 months of coma caused by brain damage, the chance of partial recovery is less than 15%, and the chance of full recovery is very low. One can only hope that this person had NO awareness at all for those 24 years.