Laurenţiu Moldovan's Fatal Crash @ Reşiţa 2008 (Aftermath)
- 7 months ago
A native of Gherla, a town in Cluj County, Romania, Laurenţiu Moldovan was a motorsport legend in his country, with a career spanning almost four decades. Affectionately called "Lenţiu" by his friends, Moldovan made debut in racing in his twenties as a motorcycle rider. He switched to four wheels in 1967 and won the first of his five national times, the Romanian Class II Rally Championship, four years later, in 1971.
Besides competing in national-level events Moldovan was a constant - and successful - figure in international events that took place in Romania. For example, in 1970 he obtained the third place overall in the Feleac hillclimb, a round of the European Hillclimb Championship. Also, Moldovan and his co-driver Mircea Popescu had a fifth place overall - and first amongst Romanian teams - in their Renault 12 Gordini at the 1974 Danube Rally.
Moldovan remained an active competitor through his 70s. One of the events in which he raced in 2008 was the Cupa Reşiţa (Reşiţa Cup), the eighth round of that year's Dunlop Campionatului Naţional de Viteză în Coastă (National Hillclimb Championship). One of the most traditional hillclimb of Romania, the Cupa Reşiţa then took place on a 3.850-kilometer Piece of departing from the Valea Domanului neighborhood of that town, located in Western Romania. In 2015 the road segment used for competition would be extended to 4.77 kilometers.
Practice sessions were held on Friday, 04 July. The first timed climbs, called Fase A by the organizers, took place the following day, and Moldovan scored a time of 2min22.840s, placing him 27th of thirty-four competitors. Sunday, 06 July, was the day of the second timed runs, the Fase B, with the winner being the driver with the lowest combined time of the two. When Moldovan was taking part on his second climb his number 35 Renault Clio went out of control on a straight line at the exit of a fast turn. There are three large trees at edge of the road at that point, and the car hit two of them head-on before ending on a field. The violent collision inflicted Moldovan severe injuries, including a broken leg and multiple fractured ribs, which punctured his lungs.
Moldovan was quickly reached by rescuers and taken to the intensive care unit of the Spitalul Judeţean in Reşiţa.
Unfortunately Moldovan succumbed to his injuries just a few hours later. He was seventy-five years old. Reputedly his accident at the 2008 Cupa Reşiţa was Moldovan's first serious accident in four decades of racing.
R.I.P
Besides competing in national-level events Moldovan was a constant - and successful - figure in international events that took place in Romania. For example, in 1970 he obtained the third place overall in the Feleac hillclimb, a round of the European Hillclimb Championship. Also, Moldovan and his co-driver Mircea Popescu had a fifth place overall - and first amongst Romanian teams - in their Renault 12 Gordini at the 1974 Danube Rally.
Moldovan remained an active competitor through his 70s. One of the events in which he raced in 2008 was the Cupa Reşiţa (Reşiţa Cup), the eighth round of that year's Dunlop Campionatului Naţional de Viteză în Coastă (National Hillclimb Championship). One of the most traditional hillclimb of Romania, the Cupa Reşiţa then took place on a 3.850-kilometer Piece of departing from the Valea Domanului neighborhood of that town, located in Western Romania. In 2015 the road segment used for competition would be extended to 4.77 kilometers.
Practice sessions were held on Friday, 04 July. The first timed climbs, called Fase A by the organizers, took place the following day, and Moldovan scored a time of 2min22.840s, placing him 27th of thirty-four competitors. Sunday, 06 July, was the day of the second timed runs, the Fase B, with the winner being the driver with the lowest combined time of the two. When Moldovan was taking part on his second climb his number 35 Renault Clio went out of control on a straight line at the exit of a fast turn. There are three large trees at edge of the road at that point, and the car hit two of them head-on before ending on a field. The violent collision inflicted Moldovan severe injuries, including a broken leg and multiple fractured ribs, which punctured his lungs.
Moldovan was quickly reached by rescuers and taken to the intensive care unit of the Spitalul Judeţean in Reşiţa.
Unfortunately Moldovan succumbed to his injuries just a few hours later. He was seventy-five years old. Reputedly his accident at the 2008 Cupa Reşiţa was Moldovan's first serious accident in four decades of racing.
R.I.P