Overview
- The crash happened Friday night on the CV-189 stage between L'Alcora and Onda when car number 32 left the course; co-driver Samuel Ortiz, 30, was pronounced dead at the scene and his brother Jordi, 33, was seriously injured.
- Firefighters and emergency medical teams extricated both men from a Honda Civic SiR and confirmed the death before Jordi was flown or transferred to the Hospital General Universitario de Castellón with polytrauma and a reserved prognosis.
- The Rallye Club Costa Azahar and the event’s organizing committee suspended the 36th Rallye de la Cerámica in a gesture of mourning and offered condolences to the family.
- Sources close to the race and on-site accounts indicate the car struck a guardrail near the Sitjar reservoir in Ribesalbes, and authorities have opened inquiries to determine how that impact and other factors contributed to the crash.
- This year’s event was counting toward the Spanish Historic Rally Championship and featured about 94 teams, and the accident is likely to trigger safety reviews and ongoing scrutiny of stage protections and emergency procedures.