Dutch rider Edwin Straver succumbed to the injuries suffered in 2020 Dakar Rally, after spending days in the hospital, following his crash.
Straver, who was riding a KTM 450 EXC in the ‘Original by Motul’ subcategory of the Dakar, crashed in Stage 11 of the 2020 Dakar in Saudi Arabia. He was transferred to the hospital in Riyadh, where he remained in critical condition due to the heavy toll.
It was also reported that the 48-year-old lost his breath for about 10 minutes after the crash, where he suffered head injuries. Straver was flown back to Netherlands but the doctors conveyed that the damage to his brain was too serious.
The statement of his death stated that the family and the doctors understood that he would remain ‘unconscious’. Straver’s death is the second to happen in 2020 Dakar, where Hero MotoSport Rally Team’s Paulo Gonclaves lost his life after a crash in Stage 7.
The Portuguese had a cardiac arrest, where he was pronounced dead upon reaching hospital. The organisers then cancelled the Bike and Quad running in Stage 8 as Hero pulled out of the remaining stages, following the huge loss for their team.
Straver, meanwhile, raced in the category where he worked on his bike, without any support from any mechanics. This was his third Dakar outing after making his debut in 2018, as he rode on the back of a successful run in 2019, where he won in his category.
He was the son of five-time Dutch road racing champion for motorcycles Anton Straver and worked as a maintenance engineer in his own company in his hometown Rijswijk. After the death of Goncalves, the Dutchman pressed regarding the safety aspect.
Form everyone at FormulaRapida.net, condolences to his family and friends
Here’s details of how 2020 Dakar Rally panned out