We all know that the Nürburgring is a common place to see cars crash, but we rarely hear of injuries let alone fatalities which makes it easy to forget just how dangerous racing really is, even on a local Track Day.
On 23rd of June a crash at the Green Hell’s Kesselchen turn, just before the 12km marker, between marshal points 129 and 130, changed that. We have received confirmation that two tourists have passed away and three more were injured open track day.
The first crash brought out the safety crew that attended to the accident site, when the driver of a red Honda Civic lost control on the wet track and skidded sideways into the parked safety car. Both the driver of the second car and his female passenger lost their lives and the two marshals attending the crash site were injured, one seriously. The third victim is being treated for shock, we presume it is the driver of the first car.
It is unclear at this moment, if the Honda driver noticed the yellow warning flags that were deployed after the first accident or if it could be contributed to what Dale wrote at http://www.bridgetogantry.com/two-dead-three-injured-in-kesselchen-crash/
Not only is that corner lacking a proper name, but it’s well known to be incredibly difficult in wet conditions. See here for more examples. It’s also nearly 2km away from the nearest remote-controlled warning light (which is on the left side at the 10km marker by Lauda Links). This means that impatient drivers can often get ‘bored’ of slowing down for the light and will accelerate again leaving Bergwerk. This is a frighteningly common mistake, and it’s why many people have been calling for another warning sign around marshall point 128.
This is just another reminder of just how hard and deadly the Ring can be, especially in the wet. Give it the respect it demands or get hurt.
If you can understand German, there is a short clip of the accident site below.
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