To say that racing communities are tight-knit groups of people is a massive understatement. Still, it's not every day that you see such a clear example of the lengths that your racing family will go to in order to do right by you.
On September 15, motorcycle racer Luca Salvadori died following injuries sustained in a multi-bike crash at the weekend's IRRC round in Germany. The outpouring of both grief and solidarity from racers, teams and everyone in between was both immediate and ongoing. While it's true that everyone involved with racing knows and accepts a certain level of risk, it's still something that you never want to see. And it hurts every single time.
His team, Broncos Racing Team, made the sad announcement on its social media. It began with the words, "Con infinito dolore annunciamo la perdita del nostro Luca Salvadori," and even if you speak Spanish and not the Italian this post was written in, the meaning is simple enough to grasp. "With infinite pain, we announce the loss of our Luca Salvadori."
They weren't the only team touched by Salvadori's death, though. Also on September 15, Salvadori's National Trophy 1000 rivals at Pistard Racing also took to Instagram to make a truly amazing gesture.
In the following video (speech entirely in Italian), Gianluca Galesi Milella outlined a clear plan for the final two remaining races of the season. After years of rivalry with Salvadori, Pistard announced that it would not compete in the final two races of the season. Instead, the team would only be there to pay its respects to Luca and his memory.
And that way, they could also ensure that Salvadori would win the championship, even in death.
And on September 29, 2024, Salvadori was officially named the 2024 Virus Power National Trophy 1000 champion in a ceremony at Imola. The championship also officially retired his number 23 forever.
While there's never any bringing back racers we've lost, including Salvadori, it's an incredibly moving gesture, and one that will no doubt remain firmly etched in the heart and the history of the sport. Salvadori's name will remain in the history books, not just as a competitor, but as a champion.
