Luis Salom | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Salom at the pitwalk of 2013 Catalan Grand Prix
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Nationality | Spanish | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born |
Palma, Spain |
7 August 1991||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 3 June 2016 Barcelona, Spain |
(aged 24)||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Luis Jaime Salom Horrach (7 August 1991 – 3 June 2016) was a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer. Salom died after a practice accident the Circuit de Catalunya, when making contact with his bike and the wall after a high-speed accident. Racing in the Moto2 class since 2014, he finished 41 races, with 3 podium appearances, including a second place finish at the 2016 Qatar season opener. At the time of his death, Salom ranked 10th in the 2016 Moto2 Championship point standings. Previously he had competed in Moto3, accumulating nine race victories, finishing 2nd and 3rd in the 2012 and 2013 championships, respectively.
Born in Palma de Mallorca, Salom started racing competitively from the age of eight, 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.
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.