Australian Caldecott killed in Dakar crash

PARIS, Tuesday (Reuters) Australian motorcyclist Andy Caldecott died in a crash during the ninth stage of the Dakar Rally on Monday, race organisers said.

"At the 250km point of stage nine between Nouakchott and Kiffa, on a fast portion, the Australian biker suffered a bad crash and died," organisers said on the race website.

"Aware of the accident at 1131am, the rally headquarters immediately sent a medical helicopter that landed at 1155am at the scene of the accident. The doctors unfortunately could only note the death of the biker that, according to them, occurred immediately."

Caldecott is the 23rd competitor to die in the Dakar Rally in 28 years. Two motorcyclists, Spain's Juan Manuel Perez and Italy's Fabrizio Meoni, died last year.

The 41-year-old Australian was an experienced desert rider. He won the Australia Safari four times and was competing in his third Dakar after being called in at the last minute to replace injured Spaniard Jordi Duran on a KTM.

Married with one child, Caldecott was 10th in the 2006 race after Saturday's eighth stage having clinched the third stage between Nador and Er-Rachidia in Morocco last Monday. New race director Etienne Lavigne pointed out that he had introduced more security measures this year, including a speed limit.