Poland’s Sonik pulls out of Dakar Rally: report

Polish quad racer Rafał Sonik has pulled out of next year’s Dakar Rally, according to broadcaster RMF24.

Rafał Sonik during Dakar 2020 in Saudi Arabia.

Photo: PAP/Panoramic

Sonik, who is a three-time world champion and winner of the 2015 Dakar rally in the quad competition, said that taking part would mean too much of a financial risk.

“Every Dakar is a big investment, and next year it will be a risky one, too,” the Polish competitor, who has been financing his races on his own for 12 years, was cited as saying by RMF24.

Sonik added: “According to safety protocols, if any of the team members test positive for the COVID-19, the entire team will be disqualified.”

“We discussed various possible scenarios with my team and concluded that there are too many unknowns and factors beyond our control. Under the current economic conditions it would be simply an irresponsible decision”, he said, as cited by RMF24.

(jh/pk)

Source: RMF24