Tragic accident on holiday, Luca Persiani dies

A tragic accident took away on Monday 19 August Luca Persiani, a former GT driver and coach still very active in the world of covered wheels.

The 40-year-old, who currently worked mainly in the United States, was on holiday in Frattura, a hamlet in the municipality of Scanno (AQ) and had gone out with a friend for an excursion on the mountain that rises above the famous heart-shaped lake.

According to local news reports, on his way back from watching the sunset, the Roman took the wrong road and drove his off-road vehicle down a downhill stretch that had been made quite slippery by the rain.

After having let the passenger out, he attempted a very difficult maneuver to get his Jeep Wrangler back on the right track, trying to get back on the best lane; unfortunately he lost traction and rolled, falling into the ravine below for about 600m.

Due to the bad weather, with thick fog on top of the rain, the recovery operations by the rescuers of the Sulmona Fire Brigade, Speleological Service, Guardia di Finanza and Carabinieri continued until dawn today, while the 27-year-old girl was immediately rescued and transported to the hospital in Sulmona in an understandably severe state of shock, after she had called for help.

Persiani took his first steps in karting before moving on to international single-seater series such as Formula Renault and F.3000, subsequently embarking on a career as a GT3 driver with outings in ELMS, GT Open, IMSA and GTWC.

For some years he had dedicated himself to teaching driving alongside pilots of various disciplines and lately he was part of the Iron Lynx team.

The Motorsport.com editorial team sends its deepest condolences to Luca’s family and friends.

Luke Persians

Photo by: ELMS