Slovak Motorcyclist Ivan Jakes Hit by Lightning at Dakar Rally

Slovak Motorcyclist Ivan Jakes Hit by Lightning at Dakar Rally

San Salvador de Jujuy, January 5 (TASR) – Slovak motorcycle rally rider Ivan Jakes on Wednesday was struck by lightning during the third stage of the Dakar Rally in Argentina on Wednesday, but thanks to the fact that his feet weren’t touching the ground he survived and even finished the stage, TASR learnt on Thursday.

“I can calm all Ivan’s fans and friends – Ivan is in order and conscious! He had a huge piece of luck when he was hit by lightning in the third stage. Intuitively, he didn’t touch the ground with his feet, so the tyres isolated the electric current,” wrote member of Jakes’s team Dick Bob Kvetnansky on Facebook.

After medical examinations Jakes decided to continue in the race on Thursday.

“Ivan Jakes is already on the track. He was feeling really bad in the evening, he had headaches, he was feeling sick and wasn’t able to drink water. He went to sleep late at night, he slept only some three hours and was still feeling ill in the morning. He was unusually non-communicative. He’s really shaken. One positive piece of information was that he praised the setting of the shock absorbers and thanked you for your support,” wrote Jakes’s Fan Club page on Facebook on Thursday morning local time.

Jakes was 17th in the overall rankings after the third stage.