Tommaso Gorga's Fatal Crash @ Rally della Val Varaita 2007
- 8 months ago
The accident happened at about 22h00 of Friday, 14 September 2007, nearly the end of the third special stage of the Rally della Val Varaita, fifth round of the IRC-International Rally Cup, held in the provincial route from Brondello to Isasca, province of Cuneo, Italy. This was the 13th edition of the rally, which was named Rally Valli Cuneesi for several years.
The Ford Focus WRC #14 driven by Manuel Sossella-Federico Ronzani, current second overall in the rally, crashed into a small wall passing in a place of the village of Isasca, where the course made a turn around the Caduti monument. Tommaso Gorga, 60-years-old from Dronero, Cuneo, who was nearly the wall was struck by the out of control car. He violently hit the wall on head being killed upon impact. The man was at the rally course following his son who worked as a photographer. He was standing in a prohibited area, marshals had already tried to convince him to move from the dangerous wall.
Luca Betti was the first racer to pass in the place of accident, and he called the rescuers at the finish-line and an ambulance arrived in a few minutes to help the unfortunate spectator.
After the tragedy the stage was stopped by the organizers and later in the night the rally was definitively abandoned.
The car driven by Manuel Sossella was a former works Ford Focus WRC built in 2002, just the car that Colin McRae drove in the 2002 Rallye de España.
Manuel Sossella with the organizer of the rally, Pier Luigi Capello, president of the Sport Rally Team, the race director Giuseppe Rustichelli and the responsible for the security Fabrizio Giuggia, were charged of manslaughter. Four years later, all of them were acquitted of charge with the death of the spectator. Sadly, on 03 September 2011, another fatal accident occurred during the Rally Valli Cuneesi, in province of Cuneo, killing the spectator Mario Scanavino. One of the the organizers of the rally was once again Pier Luigi Capello.
R.I.P
The Ford Focus WRC #14 driven by Manuel Sossella-Federico Ronzani, current second overall in the rally, crashed into a small wall passing in a place of the village of Isasca, where the course made a turn around the Caduti monument. Tommaso Gorga, 60-years-old from Dronero, Cuneo, who was nearly the wall was struck by the out of control car. He violently hit the wall on head being killed upon impact. The man was at the rally course following his son who worked as a photographer. He was standing in a prohibited area, marshals had already tried to convince him to move from the dangerous wall.
Luca Betti was the first racer to pass in the place of accident, and he called the rescuers at the finish-line and an ambulance arrived in a few minutes to help the unfortunate spectator.
After the tragedy the stage was stopped by the organizers and later in the night the rally was definitively abandoned.
The car driven by Manuel Sossella was a former works Ford Focus WRC built in 2002, just the car that Colin McRae drove in the 2002 Rallye de España.
Manuel Sossella with the organizer of the rally, Pier Luigi Capello, president of the Sport Rally Team, the race director Giuseppe Rustichelli and the responsible for the security Fabrizio Giuggia, were charged of manslaughter. Four years later, all of them were acquitted of charge with the death of the spectator. Sadly, on 03 September 2011, another fatal accident occurred during the Rally Valli Cuneesi, in province of Cuneo, killing the spectator Mario Scanavino. One of the the organizers of the rally was once again Pier Luigi Capello.
R.I.P