Hundreds bid last farewell to Czech rally driver Karel Loprais

Hundreds of people have turned out to pay their respects to Czech rally driver Karel Loprais,a six-time winner of the Dakar Rally in the truck category, who died at the end of December at the age 72. The farewell ceremony took place on Saturday afternoon in the Moravian town of Frenštát pod Radhoštěm.

Loprais, who worked as a test driver for Tatra Trucks, took part in the Dakar Rally for the first time in 1986 and placed 11 times. He was the third-most successful Dakar participant of all time, after Stéphane Peterhansel of France and Vladimir Chagin of Russia. He last took part in the race in 2006, together with his nephew Aleš.