Bloody weekend in the world of rallying. The most dramatic toll was in Sicily, where this morning a car went off the road and crashed into spectators who were watching the hill climb on Mount Erice, in the province of Trapani: two boys aged 18 and 20 died, while a third person, a race commissioner, was injured and hospitalised. The other two victims, in as many competitions, in Liguria and Lombardy. While in Agrigento a 28-year-old boy died in a kart track, losing control of the vehicle. In Belmonte Mezzagno (Palermo), the town of origin of the two young people who died during a day that was supposed to be a day of celebration and sport, the mayor declared city mourning and suspended the ongoing demonstrations. The tragedy in Erice occurred during the historic race on the Mount, now in its 68th edition. Suddenly the Peugeot 308 Tcr number 54 driven by driver Marco Nicoletti went off the road, hitting Giuseppe Bisconti, 18, and Karol Greco, 20, both of whom died from serious injuries.
A race commissioner, Mario Marchetti, was also injured in the accident: he was rushed to the Sant'Antonio Abbate hospital in Trapani, where he is in intensive care, his life is not in danger. The driver of the Peugeot, originally from Caltanissetta, was also slightly injured: the car broke a wall, the carcass was later recovered. The race, which has been suspended, was organized by the Automobile Club Trapani, valid for the Italian uphill speed championship for historic cars (Civsa), Italian mountain speed championship (CIVM) and tricolor classic cars with 260 registered crews and 153 modern and 107 historic cars at the start. The Trapani Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation. But the one on Monte Erice is only the latest in a series of accidents that have marred the car racing weekend. In Val D'Aveto, in the hinterland of Genoa, where the second day of the tenth Rally was underway for the first special stage 'Due Valli', Stefano Sappracone, a 43-year-old co-driver from Sanremo of the Alma Racing team, died. He was on board a Skoda Fabia which went off the road on a bend near Mileto (Genoa) around 11am. The competition has been cancelled. According to initial information, the car, driven by the Genoese driver Stefano Scapellato, went off the road on a bend near the Mileto area in the municipality of Rezzoaglio (Genoa), crashing into a tree. The co-pilot was crushed between the seat and the bodywork, dying instantly, while the pilot was slightly injured and was transferred to hospital for checks. Another accident occurred on Saturday at the Mille Miglia Rally: a car competing in a special stage in Valsabbia between Casto and Bione in the Brescia area hit Francesco De Pasquale, a 63-year-old from Turin who was following the race with his wife and daughter. Also in this case the organizers have decided to permanently suspend the competition. The two women were not injured but the circumstances of the accident now remain to be precisely reconstructed. According to the first elements gathered, De Pasquale was near a curve and was taking a photograph when he was reached by the racing car which hit him, then ending the race in a ditch. And among the aspects still to be clarified there is above all the position occupied by the man at the moment of impact and whether the point in which he was located was included among the areas permitted to the public. The investigations will also have to reconstruct the trajectory of the car and the exact sequence that led to the collision. The Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation entrusted to the magistrate on duty Francesca Sussarello who is awaiting the reports from the police. Investigations were also opened into the accidents at the Monte Erice time trial and the rally in Val D'Aveto.
