Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), Jan 15 (AP) A Dakar Rally racer who was badly injured after crashing his motorbike has died aboard a medical flight from Saudi Arabia to France, race organizers said Friday.

Pierre Cherpin died while being transported from Jeddah to Lille on Thursday night, four days after his crash during the seventh stage from Ha'il to Sakaka.

The 52-year-old Frenchman was found unconscious after the crash and the medical report revealed “serious head trauma.”

Cherpin underwent surgery in Sakaka and was kept in an induced coma before being airlifted to a hospital in Jeddah, organizers said.

“The entire Dakar caravan would like to extend its sincere condolences to his family, relatives and friends,” the race said in a statement.

Cherpin had described himself as an amateur interested not in podium finishes but rather outdoor adventures, the statement said.

He was 77th in the general standings after six stages. This was his fourth Dakar Rally. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)