Andy Gehrmann's Fatal Crash @ Nürburgring 2015
- 5 months ago
Ten spectators were injured, including one fatally, in an accident which happened around 11h00 on Saturday, 28 March 2015, less than an hour after the start of the ADAC Westfalenfahrt, the opening round of the 2015 VLN Nürburgring Endurance Championship, held at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
Andy Gehrmann, 49-year old Dutchman from Heerlen, died at the circuit's on-site medical centre after the Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 #23 of Jann Mardenborough-Kuzuki Hoshino, driven by the first, flipped up and careered off the track, over the fencing and into the crowd. The car took off along the Flugplatz section of the track, at an estimate speed of 200 km/h (125 mi/h), and slammed into the barriers, before ending upside down into the spectators' area.
The race, which was supposed to last four hours, was immediately stopped to give emergency crew quick access to the circuit, and wasn't restarted. This was reported to be the first fatal accident involving spectators, during a VLN Endurance Championship event. Among the injured people, two men were taken to hospital with minor wounds and broken bones, as was the British racing driver Jann Mardenborough, 23-year-old, who spent the following day for observation and treatment. Ten others were treated at the track.
The accident occurred at the "Quiddelbacher Höhe", one of the most infamous jump crests of the Nordschleife, almost at the same place as Manfred Winkelhock, who in 1980 underwent a blow-over at the top of the crest during a Formula 2 race, due to a damaged front wing.
R.I.P
Andy Gehrmann, 49-year old Dutchman from Heerlen, died at the circuit's on-site medical centre after the Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 #23 of Jann Mardenborough-Kuzuki Hoshino, driven by the first, flipped up and careered off the track, over the fencing and into the crowd. The car took off along the Flugplatz section of the track, at an estimate speed of 200 km/h (125 mi/h), and slammed into the barriers, before ending upside down into the spectators' area.
The race, which was supposed to last four hours, was immediately stopped to give emergency crew quick access to the circuit, and wasn't restarted. This was reported to be the first fatal accident involving spectators, during a VLN Endurance Championship event. Among the injured people, two men were taken to hospital with minor wounds and broken bones, as was the British racing driver Jann Mardenborough, 23-year-old, who spent the following day for observation and treatment. Ten others were treated at the track.
The accident occurred at the "Quiddelbacher Höhe", one of the most infamous jump crests of the Nordschleife, almost at the same place as Manfred Winkelhock, who in 1980 underwent a blow-over at the top of the crest during a Formula 2 race, due to a damaged front wing.
R.I.P