Portuguese driver Armindo Neves (SWM) was killed during the Africa Eco Race on Wednesday. The motorcyclist, born in Avis (Portalegre), was 52 years old. He made a fatal fall at the end of the second leg of the race, which linked Bousaid (Tunisia) to Tagounite (Morocco).
The news was confirmed by the organizers of the event, which links Monaco to Dakar, in Senegal, and by the Portuguese Motor Federation (FMP).
“What is known is that he fell at the end of the second leg and did not survive his injuries,” he said. Manuel Marinheiro, chairman of the FMP, told Lusa.
The accident happened three kilometers before the end of the ride between Bousaid and Tagounite, in Morocco, with a total length of 466 kilometers, of which 448 timed.
Armindo Neves was born in Avis (Portalegre), but lived in Santiago do Cacém (Setúbal), where he was a businessman.
He has been racing off-road since 1989 and was the 2019 National Motorcycle Veteran Champion.
This was the first participation in the African event, now in its 14th edition, and emerged as an alternative to the off-road Dakar rally, as the mythical marathon left Africa for South America following terrorist threats that led to the cancellation of Lisbon-Dakar 2008.
The Africa Eco Race has 12 stages and ends on October 30 at Lago Rosa in Dakar.
Armindo Neves is the second Portuguese driver to die in an off-road event, after Paulo Gonçalves died after a fall on the seventh stage of the Dakar rally, in 2020.
Source: DN
