- MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina: Argentine bike rider Jorge Martinez Boero has died following a crash on the first day of the Dakar Rally, a 15-day race that stretches across South America from Argentina to Peru.
Argentine media and race officials said Martinez Boero died on Sunday as he was being transported by helicopter to a hospital in Mar del Plata.
Details of the crash were not immediately available.
The Dakar Rally began Sunday with racers embarking on the first leg from the coastal city of Mar del Plata to Santa Rosa, Argentina. The race, considered one of the most dangerous in motor sports, ends on Jan. 15 in Lima, Peru.
Meanwhile, Chilean Francisco Lopez won the opening stage of the motorbike section of the Dakar Rally here on Sunday.
The Aprilia rider timed 32min 37sec over the 57km course coming in 14sec ahead of defending champion Marc Coma of Spain on a KTM and 27sec in front of Argentinian Javier Pizzolito, riding a Honda.
Coma scored some early points against teammate and principal rival Frenchman Cyril Despres, who finished 1min 48sec behind the stage winner in 13th place.
