Spanish Moto2 rider Luis Salom has died at the age of 24 after crashing during a free practice session at the Catalunya Grand Prix.

Incident with Luis Salom happened at turn 12 during the second practice session for Moto2.

Salom was transported to the Hospital General de Catalunya, he was moved to theatre to undergo an explorative laparotomy from the surgical team. The patient was declared deceased at 1655.

Luis Jaime Salom Horrach (7 August 1991 – 3 June 2016) was a Grand Prix motorcycle racer from Spain.

Early career

Born in Palma de Mallorca, Salom started racing competitively from the age of eight years, 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. He also took part in the Red Bull Rookies Cup in 2007, taking fourth place in the championship thanks to a win at Assen and second at Jerez. He continued in the series in 2008 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 and Brno. He also finished second to Efrén Vázquez in the CEV Buckler championship.

125cc/Moto3 World Championship, (2009–2013)

Salom made his Grand Prix début in a wildcard appearance at the Spanish Grand Prix, finishing 23rd. After another wildcard appearance in Catalunya, Salom moved into the championship full-time, replacing Simone Corsi at the WRB team. In twelve races, Salom amassed 21 points on the Aprilia with sixth at Donington being his best result.

Salom moved to the Lambretta team for the 2010 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.

Salom won his first Grand Prix in Indianapolis in 2012, beating Sandro Cortese and Maverick Viñales in a last-lap fight. He also won at Aragon. He finished the championship in second behind Cortese.

He went to Red Bull KTM Ajo for the 2013 season. He dominated most of the season, and led from Catalunya onwards. However, his championship lead dwindled at Motegi after crashing out of the race, giving his title rivals Maverick Viñales and Álex Rins the chance to catch up. Rins crashed out, but Viñales finished second. At the final round in Valencia, Salom crashed again, leaving Rins and Viñales to fight to for the title, and Viñales would later triumph. Salom finished fourteenth and recorded the fastest lap of the race, but could only finish third in the final standings.

Moto2 World Championship (2014–2016)

Salom signed a contract with Pons Racing that lasted until the end of 2015. He will race with former title rival Maverick Viñales. Then during the events in Qatar and Austin, 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, Salom move to SAG Racing Team partnering with Jesko Raffin. At Qatar Salom finished the race in 2nd-place. He died as a result of a crash in turn 12 during free practice 2 of the 2016 Catalan Grand Prix.

Death

On 3 June 2016, with 25 minutes to go during Free Practice 2 for the 2016 Catalan Moto2 Grand Prix, Salom crashed in turn 12, resulting in the session being red-flagged. The accident was not recorded by MotoGP cameras, however a security camera near turn 13 managed to get a footage of his accident. His bike hit the air fences and bounced upwards, while Salom (who has let go of his bike) ends up sliding directly underneath the bike, causing the bike to fell down right on his body. After being transferred to the local Hospital General de Catalunya, Salom died after an operation due to the injuries sustained in the crash. As a result of his death, the race will use the layout normally used by Formula One, to reduce speeds in the part of the track where Salom fatally crashed.