Paulo Gonçalves
Having over 23 titles in motocross, enduro, and supercross to his credit, the Portuguese rider, Paulo Gonçalves, was the most experienced among the four members of the Hero Motosports team. He began his dakar adventure back in 2006 and went on to take part in 13 editions of the rally. Paulo was nicknamed “speedy”, a reference to the Looney Tunes character, speedy González. Paulo is also considered a dakar Legend, having participated in more than 10 editions of the rally.
Paulo started off in a cautious manner this time and rode through the dunes at a good pace. This put him in the 12th place in the overall rankings at the end of the first day. The second stage was also the beginning of the super Marathon stage for bikes and quads. Paulo rode steadily to finish the stage without any technical difficulties or crashes. as an elite/legend rider, Paulo was in contention for the super Marathon stage. This meant that he got only 10 minutes to work on his bike before depositing it in the Parc Ferme for the second part of the super Marathon stage.
The third stage was where things became tricky for Paulo. He had a technical difficulty 30 kilometres into the stage. as per the rules, only another competitor was allowed to assist him. Not one to give up easily, he waited alone in the desert for help to arrive. a competitor from the truck category stopped to give him the replacement engine that he needed. He went on to replace the engine of the bike himself in the hot and sunny desert to complete the stage. even after all this, Paulo had not given up hope. determined, he completed the fourth stage with an amazing fourth-place finish. With this, he put himself in 77th place in the overall rankings, climbing up 33 places from the earlier 110th position.
Paulo’s journey came to an end in the seventh stage with a tragic incident. He suffered a crash that led to cardiac arrest. He was then taken to the nearest hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The eighth stage was then cancelled for bikes and quads in his honour.
He will forever be remembered as a true legend of the sport.
We extend our deepest condolences to Paulo’s family and the Hero Motosports team.