Rally: Co-driver Stefano Sappracone Dies in Crash at Age 43

Fatal accident at the Val d’Aveto Rally in the Genoa hinterland. On Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m., during the day’s first special stage, co-driver Stefano Sappracone from Sanremo lost his life at the age of just 43. The car, a Skoda Fabia driven by Genoa-based driver Stefano Scapellato, veered off the road while navigating a curve near Mileto, in the Rezzoaglio area, and crashed into a tree.

According to RaiNews, Sappracone was pinned between the seat and the car body and died instantly. Driver Stefano Scapellato, on the other hand, sustained minor injuries and was taken to the hospital for further evaluation. Just a few hours before the accident, Sappracone himself had posted a video on social media showing practice runs for the Val d’Aveto Rally, obviously unaware of what was about to happen to him.

The organizers, shaken by the tragic news, decided to suspend the Val d’Aveto Rally, whose tenth edition thus ended halfway through the second day. The event was the fifth round of the Zone 2 Rally Cup and had attracted 71 registered crews. The schedule had called for the crews to arrive in Allegrezze before the closing ceremony in Santo Stefano d’Aveto, which was also canceled.

The circumstances of the accident now remain to be clarified. The Carabinieri’s investigation will aim to precisely reconstruct the sequence of events and determine what happened in the few moments leading up to the dramatic crash.