The rally world is in mourning. The Navarrese pilot Artai Santidrián Fernández has died after suffering an accident while running in the XXIII edition of the Azpeitia Rallysprint, in Guipúzcoa. The pilot died on the spot while his co-pilot was unharmed and was able to escape from the interior of the vehicle before the fuel spilled on impact set the car on fire.
The car caught fire after colliding with a guardrail.
The Navarrese driver’s BMW E36 caught fire during the first round of the race, in the municipality of Bentaberri. According to sources from the organization quoted by the newspaper ‘Deia’, the car “went off the track and collided with one of those old stone guard rails. The blow was strong, the engine moved all over and the car started to burn immediately. Luckily the stewards were able to get the co-driver out in time while the car was on fire.”
The firefighters removed the co-pilot at the last moment.
He co-pilotDaniel Chasco, was able to leave unscathed from the vehicle with the help of the fire brigade just before it began to burn, and was evacuated to the Hospital Donostia de San Sebastián.
The Royal Spanish Automobile Federation has expressed its condolences to the family and friends of the driver through a statement on his social networks: “Rest in Peace Artai Santidrián, driver from Navarre who died while competing in the Azpeitia Rallysprint. We join the pain of family and friends. RIP”.
With this accident, there are already four participants deaths in rallies in Spain in the last month.
