Moto2 SAG Team rider Luis Salom died following a fall in Free Practice 2 for this weekend’s Catalunya Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, reports MotoGP. Salom was 24.
Salom lost control and fell in the fast Turn 12 complex, however, Crash.net reports that it is not believed that any other riders were involved in the incident. The cause of the fall remains unclear.
Two medical cars, two ambulances and the medical helocopter were sent to the site of the accident to treat Salom’s injuries. The session was red flagged with less than 25 minutes to go.
Salom was transferred by road to the nearby Hospital General de Catalunya for further treatment. There, despite having undergone surgery, he succumbed to his injuries at 4:55 p.m. local time.
Salom had been competing in world championship motorcycle racing since 2009, finishing second in the Moto3 World Championship in 2012 and riding to three podium finishes during his career in Moto2.
This is the first motorcycle grand prix fatality since Marco Simoncelli in 2011, and the second ever Moto2 death after the loss of Shoya Tomizawa in 2010, notes Crash.net.
This comes a week after a different Moto2 racing incident in Aragon, Spain, where several riders were engulfed in a fireball but ultimately escaped unharmed.