ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers stopped after driver killed in huge crash involving several cars

Sat, 20:07 The race will not be resumed on Saturday evening. The thoughts of everyone involved in the 24h Nürburgring are with the family of Juha Miettinen.

Sat, 20:06 During the opening phase of today’s first race of the ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers, there was a serious accident involving seven participants. Following the collision of multiple vehicles, race control immediately halted the race to allow for extensive recovery and rescue operations.

Despite the immediate arrival of emergency services, the doctors were unable to save driver Juha Miettinen (BMW 325i, #121) after he was extricated from the vehicle. He passed away in the Medical Center after all resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful.

The other six drivers involved were taken to the Medical Center and nearby hospitals for precautionary examinations. None of them are in life threatening condition.

Nordschleife regular Juha Miettinen died following a seven car incident at the Nürburgring during Race 1 of the ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers.

The race, which had attracted widespread attention due to the participation of Max Verstappen, was red flagged around 25 minutes into the planned four hour contest.

At the Nürburgring, races are rarely stopped for anything other than weather or major safety concerns, and it soon became clear that the interruption had been caused by a serious multi car incident involving seven entries.

The red flag remained in place for around an hour before the race was formally suspended, with recovery and medical operations continuing at the scene.

A press conference was held at 20:00 local time, approximately three hours after the initial stoppage, where officials confirmed that Miettinen had died following the crash.

It was also announced that Saturday’s race would not be resumed, bringing an abrupt and tragic end to the session.

“A minute's silence will be held in memory of the late motorsport competitor during the grid formation for Sunday's race at 13:00.”

This is the first driver fatality during a race on the Nordschleife since German racer Wolf Silvester died in June 2013. 

On Sunday, drivers and teams are set to return to action on for NLS5, the last major Nurburgring race before the Nurburgring 24 Hours on May 16-17.

The four hour race began cleanly at around 17:30 CEST, with David Jahn leading from pole position in the Gamota BMW as the field settled into the opening phase without incident on the combined GP Strecke and Nordschleife layout.

That changed abruptly when a fluid leak on the racing line triggered a chain reaction crash at high speed, catching out multiple cars arriving through one of the fastest sections of the circuit.

Early reports indicate oil or fuel caused a sudden loss of grip, leaving drivers with little chance to react. Later race control officially announced: "A total of seven vehicles were involved in the multi-vehicle collision in the Klostertal section."

The report added: "The cars involved are #27 (Wahl/Rönnefarth/Dumarey/Böckmann, Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3), #111 (Becker/Spölgen, BMW 325i e90), #121 (Miettinen/Berghult, BMW 325i e90), #410 (Croci/Larbi/Ackermann/Le Bihan, Porsche Cayman GTS), #448 (Klinkmüller/Beckwermert, Porsche Cayman CM12), #503 (Tamm/Egger/Hökfelt, Toyota Supra) and #992 (Griesemann/Griesemann/Adorf/Holzer, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Manthey 992.1)."