Bernat Martínez & Dani Rivas Fatal Crash @ Laguna Seca 2015

Two Spanish motorcycle racers were killed after crashing shortly after the start of the MotoAmerica Superbike/Superstock 1000 race, a supporting event for the World Superbike Championship round at Laguna Seca circuit, which official name is Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, in Monterey County, California.

The accident occurred at 17h30 on Sunday, 19 July 2015, on the opening lap of the second heat of the combined Superbike and Superstock 1000 race. Two riders touched wheels at an estimate speed of 120 mi/h (193 km/h) at turn 1, along the start/finish straightaway towards the Andretti Hairpin, setting off a chain reaction. Six riders fell down in the run-off area on the right side of the track.

The riders killed were 35-year-old Bernat Martínez of Alberic, Valencia, Spain, who succumbed to his injuries at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula (CHOMP) in Monterey, California, and Dani Rivas, 27, of Moaña, Galicia, Spain, who was thrown from his bike and struck by the following competitors. He was transported by REACH Medical Air Services to Natividad Medical Center in Salinas, California, where he passed away shortly after admission.

The other riders involved in the multiple-bike collision were Danny Eslick (Honda #69), Devon McDonough (Aprilia #63), Kevin Pinkstaff (Kawasaki #121) and Josh Chisum (Yamaha #10). Three of them were also hospitalized with non life-threatening injuries as a result of the accident.

A Spanish former Moto2 racer for Bimota, Bernat Martínez was at his first season in the United States. He competed in the Superbike class, riding the Yamaha R1 #76. In 2010 he rode a Bimota in the Moto2 World Championship.

R.I.P