Nifontova told RT that she tried to pick up her 185-kg automobile all by herself, but it was impossible. She added that her bike went down as she was going uphill on a “very difficult sandy part” of the stage.
Through tears, the Russian rider asked for help from the French television operator but the guy did not respond and continued filming her. Other pilots passed her one after the other as well, as she kept waving her arms.
When her hopes were almost drained, a Frenchman, Gregory Morat, stopped to rescue her.
Later on after the marathon, Gregory wrote a post on his Facebook page explaining why he helped his rival rider.
“Well aware of the hell that may be the competition; I spontaneously helped twice the Russian Anastasiya Nifontova pilot who couldn't pick up her bike after a fall. I don't take particular pride for this gesture, which for me is natural in terms of the values that are mine: humanity is above all!”
Sputnik France asked his hero of Dakar for an interview.
“It was one of the last stages of the rally. It was extremely exhausting. We were riding through the sand for many miles and were out of strength physically,” Morat said.
When he saw Nifontova he realized at once that she was having problems with her bike which fell.
“I know well how heavy the bike is, so I understood than Anastasiya was in a really tough situation, though she has fine piloting skills. I thought it was natural to stop and help her to raise her bike,” Morat said.
The French racer says that his act was spontaneous and he did not expect to get so much praise. He did not even notice that television crews were filming him, because he was fully concentrated on the race, he said.
“In the evening I opened my Facebook page and saw dozens of messages from Russia with words of gratitude. I was very surprised. I still get lots of such messages and they make me happy,” Morat said.
He stressed that his heroic act was spontaneous. “I did it because it was natural, without asking myself any questions. I was thinking only about how to help Anastasiya.”
Grégory said he was glad that he rescued his counterpart and praised Nifontova’s skills.
“She finished very well. I think that she has an amazing personality, and the hero is rather she, than me. Racing in Dakar Rally is a hard job, but she coped with it brilliantly,” he said.
Nifontova took 75th overall among motorcycle racers, Morat was 87th. However, the Russian racer took 2nd position in the women’s category.
The 38th edition of Dakar, one of the worlds’ toughest endurance challenges, began in Asuncion, Paraguay and ran through Bolivia and Argentina.
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