The incident arose after Nuttall, Frenchman Sebastian Coue and Emirati Mohammad Balooshi were sent in the wrong direction by local policemen and ended up 15 kilometres off-track.

The Dakar Rally is possibly the most dangerous and deadly sporting event in the world and up to 60 people have died over the race’s history.

Nuttall, who was coming 34th, wasn’t about to let something terrible happen.

After managing to avoid the mine shaft, Nuttall used a satellite phone to call for help and stayed at the scene until a medical team arrived in a helicopter.

He then got back onto his bike and spent all of Stage 10 catching up to finish 37th.

Nuttall’s father, Robin, who lives in Buninyong, said his son had shown true Australian spirit and expected nothing less.

“I would say that it is in his nature,” he said. “Both he and me have always considered sportsmanship to be important.”

It is not the first time Nuttall has sacrificed his own race to help a fellow rider. He helped a bogged Italian racer in Europe in 2010.

A similar scenario occurred at Dakar this week when rally leader Cyril Depres and Paulo Goncalves became bogged; although Frenchman Depres did not show the same sportsmanship that Nuttall did.

Robin, who had been following the race since it began on New Year’s Day, could not believe it when Portuguese Goncalves helped Depres out of the mud only to watch Depres continue racing without helping him in return.

Robin said it was hard for he and his wife, Val, to hold their nerves while their son raced and their first priority each night was to check the website to make sure he was alright.

“I click on ‘arrivals’ first every night to see if he’s alive, it’s very nerve-racking,” he said.

Dean’s wife, Rachael, who is in South America, knew his parents would be worried and phoned them to explain what had happened.