Richard Sainct

Paris: French motorcycle rider Richard Sainct, who won the Paris-Dakar rally three times, was killed in a crash in the Pharaohs Rally in Egypt on Wednesday, the French motorcycle federation (FFM) said.

?I can confirm only that Richard died. We don?t have any more details,? an FFM spokesman said.

Sainct, who rode for KTM, won the Paris-Dakar rally in 1999, 2000 and 2003.

The 34-year-old crashed twice in the fourth stage of the Pharaohs Rally on Wednesday and the second accident was fatal, according to media reports. Organisers said he had been taken to hospital by helicopter but was dead on arrival.

His KTM team withdrew from the race after his death.

An Egyptian security official said Sainct?s motorcycle overturned around 90 kms east of Siwa oasis.

The official added that three other contestants were injured in the accident and two of them had been transported to a hospital near Cairo for treatment.

Sainct, who won his first honours by becoming French endurance champion in 1989, won the Pharaohs Rally in 2002, the Atlas Rally in 1997 and 1998 and the Tunisia rally in 1998 and 1999. (Reuters)