It seems like every year we report on riders succumbing to their injuries after crashes at World Rally-Raid Championship events. Earlier this year, we informed our readers that Carles Falcón passed away after a bad crash during stage two of the Dakar, which is the first World Rally-Raid event of the year. Now, the final Rally-Raid Championship has claimed another rider's life.
The opening stage of the Rally of Morocco laid the grounds for the unfortunate crash that claimed the life of the 46-year-old French rider, Frédéric Baudry.
Budry, who was racing in the Rally of Morocco for the second time, crashed his KTM 450 Rally Replica on the 97th kilometer of the first stage while riding a section in the sand dunes around the city of Zagora.
A post on social media from Rallye du Maroc stated, "During today’s stage of the Rallye du Maroc, a loop around Zagora, motorcycle competitor Frédéric Baudry, who was taking part in the race for the second time, crashed in the dunes at kilometer 97. He was quickly attended to by the doctors of one of the medical helicopters, who transported him to Zagora hospital, where tragically he passed away at 16:45."
A Facebook post written by Baudry's team, Nomadic Racing, read, "Our most sincere thoughts are with his wife and children,"
Current FIM regulations require riders to wear FIM-certified airbag vests while competing. Hopefully, this technology is something that will help reduce the number of rally-raid deaths we report on in the future, as companies like Alpinestars and Helite continue to develop these protective systems.
Budry's death is a tragedy and our thoughts are with his family.
