The eight-time world championship winner, six of which have come in MotoGP for Repsol Honda, is a known admirer of the Dakar Rally while his good friend and Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz was recently at the four-wheel event to support his father, Carlos Sainz Sr.
After complaints of pain in his torso, a medical helicopter was deployed in order to take Sainz Sr to a local hospital, but in a surprising turn of events the 60-year-old demanded that the helicopter turn around in order for him to continue the race.
“What is clear is that for me, not on a motorcycle, it would hurt me. Obviously you sign up for a bombing. The Dakar gives a lot of respect, there is prior preparation. And we are competitive, I don’t like to lose. Maybe in the future I would go to compete, but not just to finish the race.”
