Zhanat Zhalimbetov, "Astana" crew's navigator. Photo by Yaroslav Radlovskiy©
“Astana” crew told about the accident they had in Abu-Dhabi Desert Challenge Rally World Cup. The crew’s navigator Zhanat Zhalimbetov suffered a spine injury and brain concussion as the result of a tough car landing, Tengrinews.kz reports. According to Arthur Ardavichus the crew failed to finish the rally for the first time in the team's history. “Unfortunately, we failed to reach the finishing line of the race. Only 8 crews out of 42 managed to finish the race,” the pilot said. Ardavichus said that they were prepared for the rally, however, the car that was equipped for the race started letting them down from the very beginning of the race. The crew encountered failures electronics and breaks. The crew failed to kick off in the first stage because of overheating problems and got penalty points for it. “Our navigator Zhanat Zhalimbetov was injured and was unable to continue the race. The organizers dismissed us,” Ardavichus said. The incident happened when Zhanat was reading a legend and he wasn’t ready for the tough landing. The car handed hard and hit its frame. Navigator’s helmet failed to absorb the blow and Zhalimbetov got a serious brain concussion. “We decided to ease off, however we continued moving, stopping sometimes to revive Zhanat. We needed to get to the day's finish, to continue the race the next day. The organizers and evacuation helicopter were waiting for us, they had seen our accident,” Ardavichus said. Astana crew withdrew from the race, because the navigator was taken to the hospital for further medical tests. Zhalimbetov feels well now, his spinal bones have clicked back into place. However he requires one month of rehabilitation. Kazakhstan Astana crew became one of the Top 3 crews after the famous 14 stages of Dakar rally that was held in Argentina, Chili and Peru on January this year.
“Astana” crew told about the accident they had in Abu-Dhabi Desert Challenge Rally World Cup. The crew’s navigator Zhanat Zhalimbetov suffered a spine injury and brain concussion as the result of a tough car landing, Tengrinews.kz reports.
According to Arthur Ardavichus the crew failed to finish the rally for the first time in the team's history. “Unfortunately, we failed to reach the finishing line of the race. Only 8 crews out of 42 managed to finish the race,” the pilot said. Ardavichus said that they were prepared for the rally, however, the car that was equipped for the race started letting them down from the very beginning of the race. The crew encountered failures electronics and breaks. The crew failed to kick off in the first stage because of overheating problems and got penalty points for it.
“Our navigator Zhanat Zhalimbetov was injured and was unable to continue the race. The organizers dismissed us,” Ardavichus said. The incident happened when Zhanat was reading a legend and he wasn’t ready for the tough landing. The car handed hard and hit its frame. Navigator’s helmet failed to absorb the blow and Zhalimbetov got a serious brain concussion.
“We decided to ease off, however we continued moving, stopping sometimes to revive Zhanat. We needed to get to the day's finish, to continue the race the next day. The organizers and evacuation helicopter were waiting for us, they had seen our accident,” Ardavichus said.
Astana crew withdrew from the race, because the navigator was taken to the hospital for further medical tests. Zhalimbetov feels well now, his spinal bones have clicked back into place. However he requires one month of rehabilitation.
Kazakhstan Astana crew became one of the Top 3 crews after the famous 14 stages of Dakar rally that was held in Argentina, Chili and Peru on January this year.