Dakar 2012 Withdrawal due to Accident
Quinn Cody suffered a high-speed crash shortly after the third waypoint check in Stage 3 of the DAKAR Rally 2012. He escaped grave injuries but head, shoulder and collarbone injuries made it impossible for him to continue the rally. A few hours after the horrendous accident a heartbroken Quinn said in a televised bivouac interview, "So many people put so much into our American effort DAKAR entry—months and months of work and to have this happen—to be leaving now, after Stage 3….it’s just a bummer."
As the first racers were crossing the finish line of Stage 3 at San Juan, officials published an announcement on the DAKAR race website. "American Quinn Cody, [was] assisted after a fall by Juan Pedrero. [He] soon met up with one of the medical helicopters, whose team diagnosed a suspected fracture of the collar bone and head injury. His condition is not alarming, but nevertheless he has had to withdraw from the race"
A short time later JCR Honda made the following announcement: "We are very proud of Quinn and this news is horrible to hear but the most important thing is that he is OK and being treated for his injuries. Quinn is as tough as they come and while this is a temporary setback it will only serve to strengthen his resolve to win the mighty DAKAR."
Quinn raced last year’s DAKAR for the first time, riding with Team Honda Europe. He captured a Rookie of the Year award for his exceptional finish of 9th overall, an unusual accomplishment for a first time DAKAR racer. The DAKAR has long been regarded by those in racing as "the toughest off-road race in the world". >
The only American on Bel-Ray Super B Honda Team (formerly Team Honda Europe) Quinn is considered the star of their team and they had high hopes he would finish in the first five for 2012.
Team owner Henk Hellegers said, "It’s been a very unfortunate end to what was looking like a good possibility for strong finishes in this year’s DAKAR race. With Quinn, he was riding really well and had regained his top ten position, so we were looking to make some progress with him. He had a huge crash and medical examinations have shown he has possibly broken a piece off the collarbone, and he has also lanced his eyebrow quite badly, which has been stitched. "He also seems to be suffering from concussion, so he was unable to continue and is now flying home to receive medical attention. I’d like to thank everyone for their hard work – we have a really good team this year, although we’ve never had so much bad luck, but this is the DAKAR and anything can happen."
On January 4 the day after the accident Quinn tried to board a plane and airport officials refused him, sending him away to obtain a written medical release from a doctor. After doing this he caught a flight to Santiago, then Lima where he spent the night. The morning of January 5 he caught the Lima flight to Los Angeles and he’s on his way home. "
10 stitches in my face and a broken collar bone but I walked away, my lucky day.." he said on Facebook.
