Ja nyt sitten Caldecottin lisäksi kaksi kuollutta katsojaa, kummatkin lapsia.
Muitakin vaaratilanteita ollut lähellä; Ludivine Puy (taisi olla nopein naiskuskeista) kuulemma väisti tiellä ollutta katsojaa jorpakkoon, josta seurauksena sairaalareissu.
Ja positiivisemmalta uutisosastolta: Hollantilainen XT 500 kuski on ilmeisesti edelleen kisassa, viimeisenä, roiskeet 70h kärjestä jäljessä ~13h aikasakkoja keränneenä. Tässä AdvRider-foorumilta napattu kommentti kaverin edesottamuksista (niille jotka eivät tunne sääntöjä, sweeper truckin kyytiin nouseminen tietää keskeytystä ja toisaalta nousematta jättäminen tarkoittaa, että olet omillasi):
#215, Henno on the XT500 has been labeled 'hero of the event' by A.S.O., the organisers. He's champion of time penalties (13:06:00 total) and takes the last place at over 67 hours from the lead.
He has been seen taking a shower at the home of a kind Malinese family and enjoying some supper with them as well. He's also reported to sleep every now and then on liaison stretches, by the side of the road. "I would really enjoy this, if I wasn't so exhausted".
He arrived at the bivouac of last monday's stage on tuesday morning at 8:00 a.m. His electricity only works from 4000 rpm and up, so his tripmaster and road book do not work most of the time. Worse: his tripmaster resets to zero every time the electricity stops working, so it's pretty hard for him to find his way in the dark, with no idea where he is on the roadbook. Can you imagine, driving alone at night, with hardly any or no light, in the African desert? And seeing all those abandoned cars and bikes from the day's stage? He met with the sweep truck a lot of times, and he's not loading onto it. They respect his effort and tell him directions if he needs 'm.