DAKAR leader, Spaniard Marc Coma, the defending champion, suffered a head injury after crashing in Friday's 13th stage. The Dakar Rally Web site www.dakar.com said Coma had not lost consciousness and was able to speak to team manager Jordi Arcarons before being taken to Dakar for further medical examinations. He had first been flown to the bivouac by helicopter.
"Having lost his direction after 34 km of the day's special stage, and whilst he was following a track parallel to the ideal route... Marc Coma has crashed after 57 km of the special stage," the website reported.
Coma, campainging a KTM, had led the overall motorcycle standings by 52 minutes and had looked unbeatable with just one 225km timed stage remaining in Senegal on Saturday before a 16km special around the Lac Rose on Sunday.
He had led since stage four in Morocco on Jan. 9. The Spaniard's sudden retirement left the 2005 winner, Frenchman Cyril Despres, in the lead.
It was a bad day for another frontrunning Spaniard, Isidre Esteve, who won Thursday's stage and was sixth overall. The KTM rider fell 500m from the first checkpoint and severely damaged his bike. The website reported he was awaiting assistance and still hoped to repair the damage.
