Who was Borja Gómez, the 20-year-old pilot from Murcia who died in an accident while training?

A tragedy has devastated the European Stock 1000 Championship: young Spanish rider Borja Gómez Rus died this Thursday after crashing on the French circuit of Magny Cours and being hit by another motorcycle during the first practice session. He had turned 20 just a few months earlier, on February 10, and was leading the championship.

The San Javier native began racing motorcycles at the national level in 2014, achieving third and second places in the Spanish Minimotard65 Championship . From there, he moved on to Supermotard, competing in the Kawasaki Cup, also finishing third in 2019.

Two years later, he won the Spanish Superbike Championship in the Supersport category and in 2022 he was national runner-up in the Superbike 1000 class.

At the age of 17, on October 23, 2022, he began his Moto2 World Championship training with the Flexbos HP40 team, replacing Jorge Navarro at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia.

That same year, in November, he participated in the final round of the World Championship, scoring his first four points at the Valencian Community Grand Prix in Cheste. He was now part of the European Stock 1000 Series grid with the Team Honda Laglisee team after three years in the Repsol European Championship. He was now leading the standings after his most recent victory in Aragón.

The San Javier-born driver was much loved by his team, as evidenced by the statement released after his death: "Beyond his exceptional talent as a driver, we will remember Borja as the great person he was. His kindness and his smile will be eternal. We will always carry him in our hearts. On behalf of the entire Laglisse Team, we would like to extend our condolences to all his family and friends during this difficult time we are going through."