On 26 September 2026, car No. 61 left the El Mazucu special stage and caught fire. Germán Romano was driving the BMW 325i, and Soraya Barreiro, a 20-year-old co-driver from the Llanes area, died in the crash. José Antonio "Cohete" Suárez had already secured the Spanish championship before the fatal accident.
The organizers halted the Rally Villa de Llanes and canceled every remaining timed stage. The sporting result became secondary.
Suárez's basic rival, Diego Ruiloba, retired several stages earlier after puncturing two tyres. That gave the Skoda driver the mathematical margin he needed to claim the title.
Efrén Llarena won the interrupted event. Iván Ares finished second; Jorge Cagiao took third. Llarena is a former European champion, but the result left little room for ceremony. Suárez was classified fourth. He would have needed only seventh place if Ruiloba had won.
Escudería Villa de Llanes announced its irrevocable decision to cancel the remaining stages after the crash. Teams observed a minute of silence, and the podium ceremony went ahead without the usual celebrations.
Soraya Barreiro was a local participant from the Llanes area. Her connection to the community deepened the grief across Asturias.
Motorsport España reported that the official classification still recognised Suárez as the 2026 champion. The title had been settled mathematically before the fatal incident, and no revision had been reported as of 26 September 2026. Motorsport España and La Voz de Asturias also reported the minute of silence and the absence of normal celebrations at the podium.
Suárez's championship remains official. Ruiloba's retirement created the decisive margin, and the result stands in the S-CER classification.
The contrast with a separate Spanish news case involving an evicted Madrid resident appears in this earlier housing report: that story focused on a political dispute over a home. In Llanes, a rally title became almost irrelevant after a fatal loss.
The classification recorded a champion. The people at Llanes chose silence instead. For the Supercampeonato de España community, remembrance came before celebration after Soraya Barreiro died in the event she loved.
