The 24 Hours of Catalonia are not part of the Endurance World Championship, which explains the absence of the usual headliners, replaced by a multitude of amateur crews.
Nevertheless, the passion is very present on the Barcelona side, and the drivers are sparing no effort to do well in this event which has some of the luster of its two big French sisters.
This year, the team's Yamaha R1 Folch Endurance started from pole position in the hands of the friendly Valencian Arturo Tizon , in front, there Suzuki GSX-R Català Aclam and the team's BMW Tecmas Endurance directed by Michel Augizeau.
At midday, departure time, the rain disrupted the 53 crews, some deciding to start on slicks, others on rain tires.
Salida de las #24hCAT of the @Circuitcat_es pic.twitter.com/Oa5wRUvu9B
— Vive L’Endurance (@ViveLEndurance) July 8, 2017
After half an hour of racing, the Suzuki Català Aclam crashed at turn #1, which led to the appearance of the safety car to replace the damaged protections.
Unfortunately, this curve later experienced a much more serious accident in which the pilot Enric Sauri crossed the clearance zone diagonally before violently hitting the protections. Transported in critical condition to Granollers general hospital, team driver Gaspar Motos died there following his numerous injuries.
Aged 33, Enric Saurí worked in the Yamaha dealership in Granollers which fielded his motorcycle, and had already participated in several editions of Spanish events.
The world of Endurance is in mourning, and if the race has not been canceled, it has lost all flavor and there will be no prize giving.
All our thoughts go out to the family of this pilot who lost his life while pursuing his passion.
