A spectator that got hit by one of the contestants succumbed to her injuries on Day 1 of the Rally Dakar.
Natalia Gallardo, 28, was badly injured to the head, abdomen and pelivs. She lived through two cardiac arrest while being transported to the Cordoba hospital, but died shortly after getting there.
Mirco Schultis and Ulrich Leardi where on board of the No. 418 team that hit the woman and four other spectators.
Of them, two were transported to Cordoba's hospital: a 24-years-old man suffering serious shinbone and febula fractures and a 9-years-old that is currently in a stationary state.
The 2010 edition promised to be safer than in the past as three people died last year.
Meanwhile, Nani Roma (BMW), former bike winner at the rally, took a surprising lead.
Roma started the rally in fifth place but quickly passed VW rival Carlos Sainz to take the lead. The driver was showing a two minutes gap only by the end of day 1.
In bikes, David Casteu finished in front of Cyril Despres (3 minutes) and Marc Coma (12 minutes).
The first stage was relocated due to heavy rain, meaning the drivers raced 199 kilometres instead of 251.
A fight between VW and BMW is expected to take place within the next days.
Results after the first stage - Cars:
Pos Driver Car Time/Gap
1. Nani Roma BMW 2h11m15s
2. Carlos Sainz VW + 2m07s
3. Stephane Peterhansel BMW + 2m50s
4. Nasser Al-Attiyah VW + 3m29s
5. Giniel de Villiers VW + 4m31s
6. Robby Gordon Hummer + 4m48s
7. Krzysztof Holowczyc Nissan + 6m07s
8. Mark Miller VW + 6m13s
9. Leonid Novitskiy BMW + 7m02s
10. Mauricio Jose Neves VW + 7m08s
etc.
Natalia Gallardo, 28, was badly injured to the head, abdomen and pelivs. She lived through two cardiac arrest while being transported to the Cordoba hospital, but died shortly after getting there.
Mirco Schultis and Ulrich Leardi where on board of the No. 418 team that hit the woman and four other spectators.
Of them, two were transported to Cordoba's hospital: a 24-years-old man suffering serious shinbone and febula fractures and a 9-years-old that is currently in a stationary state.
The 2010 edition promised to be safer than in the past as three people died last year.
Meanwhile, Nani Roma (BMW), former bike winner at the rally, took a surprising lead.
Roma started the rally in fifth place but quickly passed VW rival Carlos Sainz to take the lead. The driver was showing a two minutes gap only by the end of day 1.
In bikes, David Casteu finished in front of Cyril Despres (3 minutes) and Marc Coma (12 minutes).
The first stage was relocated due to heavy rain, meaning the drivers raced 199 kilometres instead of 251.
A fight between VW and BMW is expected to take place within the next days.
Results after the first stage - Cars:
Pos Driver Car Time/Gap
1. Nani Roma BMW 2h11m15s
2. Carlos Sainz VW + 2m07s
3. Stephane Peterhansel BMW + 2m50s
4. Nasser Al-Attiyah VW + 3m29s
5. Giniel de Villiers VW + 4m31s
6. Robby Gordon Hummer + 4m48s
7. Krzysztof Holowczyc Nissan + 6m07s
8. Mark Miller VW + 6m13s
9. Leonid Novitskiy BMW + 7m02s
10. Mauricio Jose Neves VW + 7m08s
etc.