The Dakar Rally is a ruthless display of off-road-based motorsport, and it nearly came to a peak when Carlos Sainz crashed, sending his car hurtling towards two spectators and a cliff on January 5.
Although the name suggests otherwise, this yearly off-road endurance race has been hosted in South America since 2009. Drivers navigate deadly terrain at next-level speeds, often risking their own lives, and at times, the spectators lives, too.
Speaking of such occasions, fast forward to January 5 when World Championship–winning driver, Carlos Sainz — the father of Formula One driver Carlos Sainz Jr — nearly took out two fans after a collision with the inner edge of a corner flipped the car at speed, resulting int the car rolling into a ravine.
One of the fans, who is yet to be identified, was filming at the time of the crash:
⚠️⚠️ Extreme ⚠️⚠️
🚗💨
Close up Carlos Sainz crash!!
#Dakar2017 pic.twitter.com/lbbREhv1if— Tim Coronel (@TimCoronel) 6 January 2017
Where are the guardrails you may ask? Good luck finding anything of the sort, as for the majority of the race there are barely any roads, let alone safety infrastructure.
Both of the fans, and Sainz, were uninjured from the crash.
Sainz later tweeted to his fans: “Finally found a cell phone signal! First off, I’m grateful for the messages and signs of support, thank you! I’m disappointed but glad that nothing happened.”