"Gonzalo was continuously laughing, he was always joking, playing and having fun on the track, we are devastated". The child from Avilés, Jon Rentería, a 16-year-old kart driver, was speaking to Gonzalo Basurto, from Burgos, on Saturday afternoon, shortly before an unfortunate accident at the Fernando Alonso circuit in La Morgal (Llanera) led to the death of this 11-year-old boy from Burgos in the Central University Hospital of Asturias (HUCA), during the early hours of Sunday. With an enormous strength, Rentería lamented yesterday morning the "fatality" that put an end to the life of his friend, "a pilot who everybody loved". However, despite the great tragedy experienced, he was willing to go ahead in a sport discipline that he considers "safe."
?The consternation weighted heavily on the circuit of La Morgal from the moment the fatal accident occurred. Basurto's comrades could not simulate the enormous sadness and some of them, as well as several parents of the children, were assisted by a team of psychologists. Among the most affected ones is the beginner pilot with whose kart Basurto´s crashed in the tragic accident of Saturday.
Gonzalo Basurto was completing the last training session for the Asturias Championship that was going to be held yesterday and which, finally, was suspended, when he struck with another kart when taking a curve. His vehicle went on the "piano" that signaled the end of the track and was thrown away. The fatality made the little one to fall headlong on the asphalt and the kart to fall on his body. The child from Gijón Lino Collado was near the track when the incident occurred. When he arrived at the scene of the accident, he saw Basurto lying on the ground, "with a very bad neck," he recounted yesterday at noon, still "impressed" by the moments of tension experienced. The medical services that were in the circuit managed to stabilize the little one, that got over a cardiorespiratory stop before being transferred to the HUCA in an ambulance. His condition was already critical.
Despite the efforts of the doctors, the child, who had traveled to Asturias accompanied by his father, died at dawn. The corpse remained in the hospital, since the family has decided to donate their organs. Psychologists have treated the parents. "They're broken-hearted," Carlos Márquez Ron, president of the Federation of Motorsports, said yesterday in dismay.
The family's intention was for the child's remains to be transported as soon as possible to his hometown of Villarcayo, where the news of the death of the child, who had a passion for cars and football, was received with real shock. The city council has decreed official mourning.
The Championship of Asturias for which the small child from Burgos was being prepared was suspended as soon as his death was known, in common agreement between the federation and the direction of the circuit. The news was sent to the pilots and their families at a meeting held at the Llanera karting facility. Then, a minute of silence was kept in the exit area of ??the track. The cancellation was not discussed. "Today we were not ready to compete in any way," Lino Collado said, convinced that although an accident like the one of Saturday "can happen to anyone," we must "move on".
The man from Almería, Ángel Hernández, who moved to Llanera with his son to participate in the Championship of Asturias, set out on a "sad" return back home yesterday morning. "It's an accident, but it forces you to reconsider everything again, even safety measures", commented Hernández, especially worried about the family of the deceased child and his little companions: "They feel terribly bad, everyone knows each other, they are friends...".
