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Luis Jaime Salom Horrach (7 August 1991 – 3 June 2016) was a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer. Salom died after a practice accident at
Circuit de Catalunya The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya () is a motorsport race track in Montmeló, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. With long straights and a variety of corners, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is seen as an all-rounder circuit. The track has ...
, when making contact with his bike and the wall after a high-speed accident. Racing in the Moto2 class since 2014, he finished 41 races, with 3 podium appearances, including a second-place finish at the 2016 Qatar season opener. At the time of his death, Salom ranked 10th in the 2016 Moto2 Championship point standings. Previously he had competed in Moto3, accumulating nine race victories, finishing 2nd and 3rd in the 2012 and 2013 championships, respectively.


Career


Early career

Born in
Palma de Mallorca Palma (; ; also known as ''Palma de Mallorca'', officially between 1983–88, 2006–08, and 2012–16) is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is situated on the south coast of Mallorca ...
, Salom started racing competitively from the age of eight, winning the 50 cc Balearic Supermotard championship. He progressed up into 125cc championships from 2005 onwards, again becoming Balearic champion for two years in succession, before moving into the CEV Buckler championship in 2007. In his first full season in the national championship, Salom finished seventh in the series, with a single podium coming in
Catalunya Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...
. He also took part in the Red Bull Rookies Cup in 2007, taking fourth place in the championship thanks to a win at
Assen Assen () is a municipality and a city in the northeastern Netherlands, and is the capital (politics), capital of the province of Drenthe. It received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1809. Assen is known for TT Circuit Assen, the ...
and second at Jerez. He continued in the series in
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
where he would win four of the first five races of the season, to hold a 13-point lead over J. D. Beach. Beach would overhaul Salom by four points by season's end, after Salom retired from races at the
Sachsenring The Sachsenring () is a motorsport racing circuit located in Hohenstein-Ernstthal near Chemnitz in Saxony, Germany. Among other events, it features the annual German motorcycle Grand Prix of the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing world champi ...
and
Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...
. He also finished second to Efrén Vázquez in the CEV Buckler championship.


125cc World Championship

Salom made his Grand Prix début in a wildcard appearance at the
Spanish Grand Prix The Spanish Grand Prix ( es, Gran Premio de España, ca, Gran Premi d'Espanya) is a Formula One motor racing event currently held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The race is one of the oldest in the world still contested, celebrating it ...
, finishing 23rd. After another wildcard appearance in
Catalunya Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...
, Salom moved into the championship full-time, replacing Simone Corsi at the WRB team. In twelve races, Salom amassed 21 points on the
Aprilia Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded immediately after World War II in Noale, Italy, by Alberto Beggio. The company started as a manufacturer of bicycles and moved on to manufacture scooters and small-capacity motorcycles ...
with sixth at Donington being his best result. Salom moved to the Lambretta team for the season. After amassing Lambretta's only point of the season at Jerez, Salom moved to Stipa-Molenaar Racing for the rest of the season, where he would add a further 71 points to his tally, including nine top-ten finishes to enable him to finish 12th in the championship.


Moto3 World Championship

Salom won his first Grand Prix in
Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
in 2012, beating Sandro Cortese and
Maverick Viñales Maverick Viñales Ruiz (; born 12 January 1995) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer. Viñales is the 2013 Moto3 World Champion, currently riding in MotoGP for the Aprilia Racing team, after five seasons as a MotoGP factory rider with the ...
in a last-lap fight. He also won at
Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to s ...
. He finished the championship in second behind Cortese. He went to
Red Bull KTM Ajo Ajo Motorsport is a Finnish Grand Prix motorcycle racing team, currently competing in the Moto2 and Moto3 classes under the name Red Bull KTM Ajo and in the MotoE class under the name Avant Ajo MotoE. The team's founder and principal is former ra ...
for the 2013 season. He dominated most of the season, finishing the first eight races on the podium, including four wins, and led the points standings from
Catalunya Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...
onwards. In a heavy crash during qualifying for the Indianapolis Grand Prix he broke his heel, but continued to race injured to keep the championship battle in his favour. He finished the race in 5th place, his worst result of the season up to that point and the first time he was off the podium all year. Despite the injury he won the next two races at Brno and Silverstone to extend his points lead before being able to rest his foot and recover. However, his championship hopes were put in serious jeopardy at Motegi where he was the innocent victim of a crash by Isaac Viñales, cousin of title rival Maverick Viñales, when he ran in third place. After remounting he eventually had to retire from the race after a second fall, giving Maverick Viñales and Álex Rins the chance to catch up. Rins later also crashed out, but Viñales finished second, making up decisive 20 points after being on the brink of being out of the championship battle altogether before the last race of the season. At the final round in
Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
only five points covered the top three riders with Salom leading, but he eventually crashed out and rejoined the race far behind, leaving Rins and Viñales to fight for the title until the last corner. Salom crossed the line in 14th and recorded the fastest lap of the race, but only finished third in the final standings despite scoring the most wins of the season.


Moto2 World Championship

Salom signed a contract with
Pons Racing Pons Racing is a motorcycle and auto racing team owned by the British company Pons Racing UK Limited. The team principal is former 250 cc world champion, Sito Pons. In motorcycle road racing world championships, Pons has fielded riders su ...
that lasted until the end of 2015 to race with former title rival Maverick Viñales. Then during the events in
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
and
Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
, he only scored two points. During the Catalan Grand Prix, he suffered a crash with Jonas Folger, putting both of them out of the race. Salom was taken to hospital after the race, and underwent surgery on a broken right arm. In
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
, Salom moved to SAG Racing Team partnering with Jesko Raffin. At
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
Salom finished the race in 2nd place.


Death

On 3 June 2016, with 25 minutes to go during Free Practice 2 for the 2016 Catalan Moto2 Grand Prix, Salom crashed at Europcar (turn 13), resulting in the session being red-flagged. The accident was not recorded by MotoGP cameras, but a security camera near turn 13 managed to capture video of the accident. His bike hit the air fence and bounced upwards, while Salom (who had let go of his bike) slid underneath resulting in him being directly in the crashing bike's path. Salom was rushed to Hospital General de Catalunya, where he died during surgery from injuries sustained in the crash. As a result of his death, the race used the layout normally used by
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
, to reduce speeds in the part of the track where Salom had crashed. Salom's death was the first during a world championship since Italian premier class rider Marco Simoncelli's fatal crash at
Sepang Pekan Sepang is a small border town and also a mukim in Sepang District, Selangor, Malaysia. The Sepang International Circuit in the western part of the town, where the Malaysian F1 Grand Prix was and Malaysian MotoGP Grand Prix is held. Ma ...
during the 2011 Shell Advance Malaysian Grand Prix (which was abandoned and declared a non-event by the FIM). Further modifications with the chicane location were announced at the end of the 2016 season, with a new motorcycle-only chicane installed before the car chicane. However, safety issues proved to be an issue and that chicane was not used by MotoGP, with the car chicane used. The SAG Team that Salom had ridden believed the front of the bike lost control whilst braking over a bump at turn 12. However, telemetry that was provided to MotoGP in an investigation showed that due to a low acceleration at the exit out of turn 11, he had applied the brakes nine metres later than usual, in order to maintain a proper corner speed at turn 12. As a result, he was still on the brakes when he hit an irregularity on the asphalt, as opposed to previous laps where he already had released the brakes on that spot. The stress this produced on the front tyre, caused a loss of grip over the irregularity, resulting in the crash. During the 2016 FIM MotoGP Awards, it was announced that Salom's number, #39, will be retired in the Moto2 class as a tribute.


Career statistics


Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup


Races by year

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)


Grand Prix motorcycle racing


By season


By class


Races by year

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Salom, Luis 125cc World Championship riders Spanish motorcycle racers 1991 births 2016 deaths Sport deaths in Spain Motorcycle racers who died while racing Moto3 World Championship riders Moto2 World Championship riders Sportspeople from Palma de Mallorca Filmed deaths in motorsport