The rally world is living a black season. It gives the feeling that motorsport is immersed in a constant nightmare from which it is difficult to wake up, because during the day on Saturday Artai Santidrián lost his life, a driver from Viana who was participating in the 23rd edition of the Azpeitia Rallysprint. The Navarrese, who was competing at the wheel of a BMW E36, left the track and collided with a stone guardrail suffering a strong impact that caused him to die on the spot. “The blow was strong, the engine moved all over and the car started to burn immediately. Fortunately, The stewards were able to get the co-driver out in time while the car was on fire.” tells the Basque newspaper Deia.
The accident occurred in the first of the three sleeves of the competition, at around 3:30 p.m. on the GI-2634 road. Unfortunately medical services They couldn’t do anything to save the life of the pilot, who was trapped inside the vehicle. However, co-pilot Daniel Chasco was able to quickly abandon the car just before it started to burn with the help of the marshals, although he was hurt, for which he was transferred to the Donostia de San Sebastián Hospital while the firefighters put out the flames to prevent their spread through the forest.
Once the tragedy was known, the test has been suspended, pending an investigation to clarify what happened. Its about fourth pilot to lose his life in the last month in regards to Spanish motorsport. A new tragedy that laments the Royal Spanish Automobile Federation, who wanted to express his condolences in a statement on his official Twitter account: “Rest in Peace Artai Santidrián, deceased pilot from Navarra while competing in the Azpeitia Rallysprint. We join the pain of family and friends. D.E.P”.