Rolf Rüttimann's Fatal Crash in Rijeka 1983 (Aftermath)

Hailing from Zug, Switzerland, rider Rolf Rüttimann conquered the 125 cm3 class of the Swiss Motorcycle Championship in 1982. The next season he tackled the World Motorcycle Championship for rides of that same engine displacement. His close friend Hans Müller was a prominent competitor in the class since many years, alongside fellow countrymen Bruno Kneubühler and Stefan Dörflinger; Rolf Rüttimann followed in their footsteps.<br /><br />On 12 June 1983 Rüttimann took part in the Yugoslavian Grand Prix, sixth round of the World Motorcycle Championship, held at the extremely fast and dangerous 4.168-kilometer Automotodrom Grobnik, in Rijeka, Yugoslavia (now Croatia). While holding one of the last positions in the race, Rolf Rüttimann lost control of his MBA at the left-hand bend in front of the pits, on the twenty-third of 27 laps, and fell from his motorcycle at about 160 km/h. After hitting the pavement, he slid for more than twenty meters and then crashed hard into the outside guardrail.<br /><br />Injured, Rolf Rüttimann remained trapped under the guardrail for almost six minutes, before being rescued and immediately taken to a hospital in Rijeka. He passed away at that clinic a few hours later that same day.<br /><br />Despite before the start of the proceedings, due to safety concerns the lower classes' competitors asked the organizers to place more straw bales in the pit area, to protect the riders from the guardrail, Rüttimann hit an unprotected steel barrier. Ironically the straw bales in front of the guardrail into which he crashed, were moved several meters ahead before the start of the races.<br /><br />R.I.P