Fabrizio Meoni

Fabrizio Meoni (31 December 1957 – 11 January 2005) was an Italian off-road and rallying motorcycle racer. He was a member of the KTM Factory Team.[1]

Fabrizio Meoni
Personal information
Born(1957-12-31)31 December 1957
Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy
Died11 January 2005(2005-01-11) (aged 47)
Kiffa, Mauritania
Sport
Country Italy
SportMotorsport
Event(s)Rally raid
Medal record
Rally raid
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Dakar Rally 2 1 2
Rally of Tunisia 4 1 0
Pharaons Rally 4 0 1
Total 10 2 3

Biography

Meoni was born in Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy.[2] Meoni was married and had two children, Gioele and Chiara.[3][4]
On May 22, 2021, his daughter Chiara died at the age of 18.[5]

Career

He won the Dakar Rally in 2001 and 2002.[1] According to the rally's organizers, Meoni was considered "one of the greatest rally-raid champions ever".[3] He also won the Rallye des Pharaons in 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001.

Death

He died at age 47 near Kiffa, Mauritania, caused by a crash on 11 January 2005 on the 11th stage of the 2005 Dakar Rally.[3][4] His official cause of death was cardiac arrest, according to his official website,[6][3] although his injuries included cervical spine damage. Since the competitors did not want to continue racing the next day, the 12th stage of the rally was cancelled for all motorcycles in honor of Meoni. Jose Manuel Perez of Spain, another motorcyclist with the KTM Team, also died during the rally several days earlier.[1][3] Meoni was "the 11th motorcyclist to die in the history of the gruelling race and the 45th competitor overall."[4]

References
  1. "South African Motorcyclist Dies at Dakar". The Washington Post. Associated Press. 9 January 2007.
  2. "Biografia". FabrizioMeoni.it (in Italian). 2002. Archived from the original on 6 May 2006. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  3. "Rider Meoni killed on Dakar Rally". CNN. 12 January 2005. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  4. "Rider Meoni dies in Dakar Rally". BBC. 11 January 2005. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  5. "Meoni, un'altra tragedia: è morta Chiara, figlia di Fabrizio vittima della Dakar 2005". gazzetta.it. gazzetta.it. 22 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  6. "11/01/2005". FabrizioMeoni.it (in Italian). 11 January 2005. Archived from the original on 4 February 2005. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
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