Luca Manca is an Italian motorcycle racer who competes in rally raid

Rally raid

Rally raid, also known as cross country rallying is a form of long distance off-road racing that takes place over several days. Each day may require traveling up to . The length of the event can be 3–15 days...

 events. Manca has won stages of the Rallye des Pharaons

Rallye des Pharaons

The Rallye des Pharaons is an FIM-sanctioned rally raid event that takes place in Egypt, with Cairo being both the start and finishing point at the foot of the pyramids of Giza, and covers roughly around 3,100 km. It is similar in format to the Dakar Rally in that it takes place in desert...

 in Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

, and also has competed in the Dakar Rally

Dakar Rally

The Dakar Rally is an annual rally raid type of off-road automobile race, organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation...

 and Rally d'Italia Sardegna

Rally d'Italia Sardegna

The Rally d'Italia Sardegna is a rally competition that has been a round of the World Rally Championship schedule and also the Intercontinental Rally Challenge . The rally is held on narrow, twisty, sandy and bumpy mountain roads around the town of Porto Cervo...

.

On January 7, 2010 near Antofagasta, Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

, Manca was involved in a serious accident. He was approximately 10 km (6.2 mi) into the sixth stage of the 2010 Dakar Rally

2010 Dakar Rally

The 2010 Dakar Rally was the 31st running of the event. It was held in South America for the second successive time, and ran from 1 to 16 January...

 while riding his KTM

KTM

KTM Sportmotorcycle AG is an Austrian motorcycle, bicycle and moped manufacturer.The company was founded in 1934 by engineer Hans Trunkenpolz in Mattighofen. It started out as a metal working shop and was named Kraftfahrzeuge Trunkenpolz Mattighofen...

. He suffered a brain contusion in the accident, and was transferred by helicopter to Hospital del Cobre Dr. Salvador Allende Gossens in Calama, Chile

Calama, Chile

Calama is a city and commune in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. It is the capital of El Loa Province, part of the Antofagasta Region. Calama is one of the driest cities in the world with average annual precipitation of just . The River Loa, Chile's longest, flows through the city...

, before being transferred to the neuro-surgical unit of Clínica de la Mutual de Seguridad in Santiago, Chile

Santiago, Chile

Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...

. This came a day after Manca had generously surrendered his rear wheel to defending champion Marc Coma

Marc Coma

Marc Coma i Camps is a rally racing motorcycle rider. He won the Dakar Rally in 2006, 2009 and 2011 riding a KTM motorcycle. He is also the World Champion in the Rallies Cross Country Motorcycles Tournament in 2005, 2006 and 2007.- Honours :- External links :*...

 when his fellow KTM rider's tire burst. Manca was placed in an induced coma

Induced coma

A barbiturate-induced coma, or barb coma, is a temporary coma brought on by a controlled dose of a barbiturate drug, usually pentobarbital or thiopental...

and on a ventilator. By January 15, 2010, Manca was breathing on his own and speaking with family members.