After a valiant attempt on his debut where he was well inside the top fifty, North Yorkshire’s Robbie Wallace saw his dreams of a finish dashed when he crashed out of the 2025 Dakar Rally earlier today.
The X Raids Experience TCC Plant-sponsored 450cc KTM rider from Northallerton was around halfway through the fourth stage on the Saudi Arabian event when he was thrown from his machine which resulted in concussion and, although conscious, was transported initially by helicopter, and then road ambulance for hospital treatment.
Luckily, Robbie has sustained no serious injuries, but it does end his hopes of a classified finish on the legendary event at his first attempt.
Robbie explains: “I had an off today and was knocked out. I don’t know for how long as I have no recollection of the accident or waking up. I got back on the bike, and I remember riding towards a photographer and being all confused. They summonsed help and the medical helicopter soon arrived which transported me to a land ambulance and that took me to hospital. I had a scan, and nothing is broken, and although I have some pain in my lower back, I’m generally fine.
“I’m absolutely heartbroken to have to share this news, I feel like I’ve let people down, but this isn’t called the world’s toughest event for nothing. I can’t complete the stage obviously, and Friday is a scheduled rest day, so they may let me restart at the weekend depending on how I feel, but my hopes of getting that gold medal on the podium are over, for this year at least. This is the toughest pill I’ve ever had to swallow but if I can get back out and gain some more experience, that would be some small consolation and make the disappointment feel a bit sweeter.
“Thanks to everyone for their support, the messages I’ve been getting mean a lot and I’m so grateful to everyone who has got me this far and made this possible. On a lighter note, the stretcher they put me on to transport me to the hospital was more comfortable than the tent I’ve been sleeping in and the local doctor told me the scan revealed that I have a small kidney stone…”
Despite his misfortune, Robbie is still classified as 106th of the 118 riders still in contention, although he will incur more penalties for missing tomorrow’s stage five. Already, 12 riders have withdrawn from the gruelling two-week event.
Pictures attached courtesy of EdoPhoto, higher resolution versions and a selection of others are available upon request.
More updates as the event progresses and further details at www.dakar.com.
Notes to Editors
The 47th edition of the Dakar will see around 140 motorcycle competitors, as well as hundreds of car, buggy and truck drivers from all over the world converge on Bisha in the south west of Saudi Arabia starting with technical checks and administration on January 1st/2nd 2025 and then the Prologue on January 3rd 2025 before the competition starts in earnest the following day. There then follows a mighty 950km stage over two days on varied terrain, with competitors required to camp out overnight in the desert in a bivouac. At least five stages of the 2025 Dakar will take place on separate courses for safety purposes to reduce the danger of cars and trucks overtaking bikes, and another feature of the 2025 event is riders will have to service their own bikes for up to 800km on a couple of days. After 14 days incorporating 12 stages, Shubaytah, in the eastern part of the country and near the Abu Dhabi border, will welcome the weary finishers.
ENDS
