Two-time Navarra hillclimb champion Iñaki Irigoien was one of the participants in the XXXVIII Subida a Urraki / Urrakira Igoera, a round of the Basque Hillclimb Championship held on 17 and 18 October 2020. Nicknamed "Txapu", Irigoien was an avid rally driver and hillclimber, but he also raced as a co-driver for Iñaki Zozaia in Rallysprints. Irigoien he was said to be from Pamplona, but it is unclear whether he was a native or resident of that town.
Irigoien entered the 2020 Subida a Urraki with a TracKing RC01 for team Ignauto Sport, competing in the Class & CM. The car, which received the numeral 9 for that competition, was brand new. In fact, Irigoien had intended to debut it in a previous event in Jaizkibel, but was unable to do so as the delivery of some parts was delayed. This had profoundly annoyed Irigoien, but even this disappointment was able to erase the smile he always displayed, and that made him a much liked figure in the basque racing scene.
At approximately 10h50 of Sunday, 18 October, Irigoien's TracKing left the bottom of the hill for another timed climbed along the 6.3-kilometers of country road GI-3740 that were closed off for the event. At mark 2.5 kilometers, however, the car crashed head-on at high speed into a guard-rail. When a doctor reached the scene of the accident he could only declare Irigoien's death. Iñaki Irigoien was fifty-year old.
Irigoien's death took place fourteen years after the previous fatal accident at the Urraki hillclimb. In 2006 Josu Ugarte lost his life after crashing his Reynard into a tree.
R.I.P
