An accident at the first VLN race of the season involving the #23 Nissan GT Academy GT-R has caused the 4 hour race to be cancelled roughly halfway through, with reports of injuries to spectators.
It’s not clear at the moment what precipitated the incident, however the GT-R driven by Academy winner Jann Mardenborough appears to have left the road around the Flugplatz section of the circuit and catapulted over the catch-fencing into a spectator area. While the driver himself appears in some images standing outside the vehicle without obvious injury, early reports suggest that the car has struck at least one spectator who it’s reported was pronounced dead at the circuit’s medical centre.
GTPlanet’s thoughts are with the drivers, team and individuals involved, and we’ll update this post with more information as it comes to us.
Update: Multiple sources now report one spectator fatality with an unreported additional number of injuries being treated at the circuit’s medical centre.
Update: The GT-R seems to have suffered a ‘blowover’ accident similar to those of the Mercedes CLR at Le Mans in 1999, with the car becoming airborne on its own as it crested the ridge at Flugplatz.
Update: Nissan has released a statement regarding the crash:
During today’s ‘VLN 1’ race at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, a serious incident occurred involving the No.23 Nissan.
The car is reported to have left the track at the ‘Flugplatz’ section and vaulted the catch fencing, landing on its roof in a spectator area.
Several spectators were injured in the incident and despite immediate efforts one of them succumbed to their injuries. The others have been taken immediately to hospital for care.
The driver, Jann Mardenborough got out of the car and, after initial checks in the circuit Medical Centre, has been taken to hospital for further routine checks.
Today’s events have been a tragedy. We are all deeply shocked and saddened by these events and our immediate thoughts go to the deceased, those injured and their families and friends.
The team is fully co-operating with the race organisers to conduct an immediate and thorough investigation into this incident.
Update: VLN has also released a statement, which we’ve translated from the original German below:
In the opening round of the VLN Endurance Championship at the Nürburgring on Saturday an accident happened in which several spectators were injured. One of these died despite immediate rescue and treatment at the medical centre of the circuit. The other injured spectators were taken for further medical care to the hospital. The race was stopped to allow quick access to the scene of the rescue services and not restarted. In the Flugplatz section a competitor vehicle drove off the track for an as-yet unknown reason and came to rest behind the safety fences at the circuit. The VLN and the organizer of the race are deeply saddened and our thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims.
Image credit: Twitter, Alex Garcia @alexgarciaGV27.
See more articles on Jann Mardenborough.
Such a terrible thing to happen, both to the victim(s) watching the race as well as Jaan. Just horrible…
This is so sad for bother the driver and injured spectators. Does anyone know how they died? Like did a part fly off and hit them or did the car itself land on them?
“I wonder how much the focus of this investigation will fall on Jann’s shoulders.”
This is an asinine question which cannot be allowed to breathe life. Jann is a race car driver. His job is to drive the car as fast and safely as possible (in re: to other drivers on track) to secure a victory for Nissan.
I have been lucky enough to have been able to watch countless races at Nür on television but in person as well. I was there again last year in fact, and watched from the Adenau bridge area. I have NEVER, EVER heard any chatter telling a driver to slow down at Flugplatz. I have seen spectators go beyond the safety fences to get photos time and time again – putting their lives at risk for photos or video.
The drivers run this through practices hundreds of times – virtually and actually. Physics, coupled with local atmospherics (barometrics, precipitation, wind speed) helped contribute to the car going airborne – not the least of these factors being THE SPECTATORS WHO DECIDED TO GO BEYOND THE SAFETY AREA…. and SPECTATE. The only person hurt in this ACTUAL scenario would’ve been Jann if spectators would have followed the rules.
RIP to the fan killed and many prayers to his family.
So wondering about how the investigation will go is asinine? I think in any serious incident, especially one involving a fatality, not investigating every single aspect of the accident would be asinine.
Yes. It’s not like he was street racing. It was a sanctioned race. Jan was at work, on his job, doing what he is paid to do. And had an on the job accident. It was also captured on video from numerous angles. A freak accident. Created not just by his movement alone, but including mother nature herself.
If anyone/anything is worth investigating, it’s those responsible for holding the race to make sure they were licensed to have the event that day, and that all legal disclosures and documents are in place.
The people responsible for setting up the car for track day and overall design and faults in this vehicle during circumstances where the forward aerodynamics change angle.
The safety of the spectator areas and risk and ease of spectators breaking in, or vehicles/ debris getting out in critical areas around the track.
And lastly, but far from least. Investigate mother nature. As said previously and is made strongly apparent in this circumstance here. Wind does not always hit the front of the car. In the case of a cross wind, tail wind, frontal lift, rear lift, or full flight. Aerodynamics should be further considered under more circumstances, and the overall aerodynamics of a cars trajectory should be further evaluated. I’ve thought about this alot lately, and I have some few ideas that I believe would help prevent something like this in the future.
Jann’s pacing through the track was inline with that of an effective and efficient race driver. If the car stayed level, that accident would not have happened. He is not at fault for this accident.
I’m sure glad you’ve surveyed all the facts and arrived at an inescapable conclusion.
Do you really think this is a good stage for this? This hardly calls for sarcasm. Save it for the forums and your precious supplanted dlc rants.
Good stage for what? Having an open mind and asking questions? I’ve drawn no conclusions nor hinted at any. You’ve simply made assumption upon assumption about my intent and now think it’s appropriate to shout me down. Try to keep a more open mind and not always respond with your emotions.
I wonder how much the focus of this investigation will fall on Jann’s shoulders. Is he supposed to lift before the crest as a general rule of thumb and/or as per team instructions? Did he lift if indeed he is supposed to? Is driver error a factor here or is the fault with the car design? Both? Some other factor involved? Will there be more focus on him due to his non-traditional entry into the world of motorsport?
Now why would you say that, there could always be fault blamed on somebody, but regardless it was an accident regardless of rookie or veteran, raised in racing or turned professional thru GT Academy. Look, If Tony Stewart can get away with what he did which was clearly avoidable and some allegedly say intentional, Janns accident was clearly unavoidable and non intentional. As a spectator you have to be aware of the danger of being so close to the track in the event of an accident. I’m sure buy purchasing a ticket to a Nurburging race there is also a waiver that you must sign or by purchasing a ticket is conformation that you read and understand danger. Yes Jann probably could have lifted before the crest but Jann is a fast driver and part of becoming a great racer is pushing the car and yourself limits. It was an accident unlike Tony Stewart.
Good questions, Johnny. I find it very telling that everyone is very, very quiet for now. My biggest fear is that Jann will take this hard. This is a first for the GT Academy crew. How will it play out?
The best thing to do for now is wait on the investigation to be completed. Anything more than that is just speculation.
But a LOT of what happens will be dependent on Jann’s reaction to begin with.
The car took off before it reached the crest. It is solely an aerodynamic issue. He was going no slower, nor faster, than any other lap of his, nor any other car.
@TWLWNC7396 at least someone has an open mind…lol. There’s no doubt Jann will take this hard. I doubt there’s anyone in racing that wouldn’t take it hard including every member of the team, Kaz, the staff at PD, Nissan…everyone involved. I’m sure the investigation will be very thorough as no one wants to see a repeat of this incident and they will look at all aspects of the accident. I can’t see it being an aero design issue with the car as some suggest because you have to ask why it happened this lap and not others. Did something break on the car? Was Jann supposed to lift slightly and didn’t lift because he was pushing for a hot lap? Who knows, but I hope they leave no stone unturned in the investigation.
The “lol” is highly inappropriate. My apologies.
This is terrible news. My heart goes out to the spectators and their families.
Sad news.
I say it, Nords is NOT for GT3 nor Lemans.
^^ I have to disagree with part of this. GT3 cars are well suited for this track, as they are not very fast and produce tons of downforce. Moreover, these cars have become a lot safer. Jann walked away from this crash – I’m sorry about the spectator death, but had this happened even 10 years ago the result would have been much worse.
I have always thought that sometimes the spectators tend to get too close to the action at times. Growing up watching Group B rally, Indy (pre-push to pass lol), F1 (the eras of Senna and Schumacher) and NASCAR (pre-restrictor plate), I have seen many crashes were spectators became causalities. As the years have gone on, safety advances have been made, moving seating areas, raising fences and even enforcing when the spectators go outside of the safe zones.
This was just an unfortunate group of events.
I have to agree with Progress on this one. Driving on the edge of any parameter is dangerous. But that’s what race car drivers do. The race organizers WILL now examine the accident scene and determine how to relocate the spectators and/or rearrange the fencing. Condolences to all who are affected by this unfortunate event.
“GT3 cars are not very fast” – tell that to the Group C lap times they’re getting up to.
^^ Keep in mind that the Group C cars didn’t have the downforce or stability of current GT3 cars. The lap time difference is mostly made on the corners with the GT3s, not the straights.
:(
what a bad news to me, my condolences to the family of spectator who died on this bad accident
My condolences go out to the family of the spectator as well as Mardenborough. :(
My condolences to the family of the spectator that lost his life and best wishes on full recoveries to those injured.
Omg! :(
Seeing the poor spectators’s beach chair still underneath the car gives me the creeps :(
i get the same feeling schmiggz, i just watched the video on liveleaks
First and foremost Very sad, thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved.
second wow that heavy FR car stood straight up!
As hsv mentioned it looks like this car is just too fast for its own good!! too much inertia moving up and forward. The car looks like its front end is already about a meter off the tarmac as he peaks the crest. Once his rear end clears the hill, the rear down force helps keep the rear-end planted as the front of the car continues to rise. It is very reminiscent of the Merc Le Mans cars of the 90’s.
Oh no, I was hoping this wouldn’t happen. Let’s hope race organizers don’t look at this and think “Look at what that gamer did!”
Not cool. That flat floor can’t help things in this situation. I feel sorry for Jann, that accident will be difficult to overcome and regain confidence at high speeds in future races! I feel even more sorry for the spectator who was killed, there is no way that individual would have seen that coming. My prayers go out to the family of that victim.
R.I.P, my condolences to the victim and the victims family
condolences to all the family of the victim. Sad day =(
All my condolences go to the family of the victim of this horrible crash.
Sad turn of events for sure, so unfortunate. Flugplatz (lit. “Flying Place”) , even in game I always approach that crest slightly off throttle in a higher gear, this prevents me from ‘liftoff’. I sincerely hope Jann was not on throttle up that crest. the risk is way to high and unrewarding.
This is really sad. Prayers go to the families… amazing that such heavy car was able to get that height…
Sad news. There is video footage on Liveleak for those interested.
The first thing that jumps out to me is the undertray of that car. One of the popular theories for the flight of the Mercedes at Le Mans in ’99 was the shape of car along with the perfectly flat undertray created lift. The same thing was blamed for the flight of the Porsche GT1 at the Petit Le Mans in 1998. Today there are aerodynamic regulations for the undertrays of Le Mans cars to ensure that they couldn’t take off; none of them have flat floors like this GT-R has. I’m hugely surprised that the GT3 regulations allow for that type of undertray, despite its dark and controversial past.
Secondly, save some thoughts for Jann. He may be physically okay but there isn’t anything more mentally challenging than being behind the wheel in an accident that killed a spectator. Joaquim Santos didn’t race again after crashing the RS200 in the 1986 Portuguese Rally.
Hopefully Jann can take this as a lesson,to get this experience to improve.Surely this will be a great barrier,but only then can a real man be created.Like a boxer,he can hardly know the meaning of position he is in until a defeat.If Jann can go through it,he will evolve into a stronger man!!!
amen chauming!
Mardenborough and anybody else who was injured are in my thoughts. My thoughts are also with the family of the spectator who was killed.
Sad news, my heart, thoughts and prayers go out to the spectator and family that lost he or she life today. And Jann, I’m going to keep you in my prayers and thankfully your ok, and try to hold your head up and stay strong, even tho this was an unfortunate accident and tragedy I must say, this is not the first time this has happen, and unfortunately it won’t be the last, I’m sorry to say, but it’s almost like it’s a part of racing, either the driver gets killed or spectators get hit with flying debris or a flying car. This even happen like a hundred years ago but on a far worst scale, I think like ten or more spectators got killed when one of those old Audi or Mercedes race cars went airborne and in to the crowd, look at rally, someone dies every year in rally because they want to stand next to a car going a hundred plus on a dirt road, Nascar be having some close calls as well when cars or debris go flying over the fence during a crash. Spectators must try to be in a spot where in the event of a crash they would be safe, most people want to be as close to the racetrack as possible which I can’t blame them, but they must know the risk, once again my heart goes out to everyone involved.
Such terrible news; I don’t know what to say. My condolences to the family of the deceased and my well-wishes to the injured and their families.
These are terrible news. My heart goes to Jann and to the families of those involved.
Shocking news.. Thoughts with all concerned.. Minute’s silence at malaysian gp later? Hope so..
very sad events! prayers go out to all families involved and deepest condolences!
Terrible, just terrible :(
My condolences to the family involved.
Sympathies to all involved.
Terrible news to hear.
Wow. My heart sank when I saw the car, but I was relieved to hear Jann was OK. Then I read about the spectators…
RIP to the unfortunate spectator, and my thoughts are with his/her family.
Outdated circuit, how many more accidents need to happen?
Leave it to the manufacturers as a test track and keep the spectators out. The public who choose to race at least have to sign a waver.
Watching a race should not be a life or death situation.
Thoughts are with Jann and the families involved
Watching any race is dangerous. It is motorsport, and that in its very nature is a life and death situation. I’ve known that since I was 2, when I attended my first race, and anyone else who goes to watch a race knows. The fans in question had actually circumvented the second fence; it is something fans do a lot there, but they were slightly further forwards and therefore in a more dangerous position.
The circuit is suitable for racing; far more than adequate in fact. Racing accidents at the ‘Ring, on a car to car basis (taking into account the amount of cars on the grid, you’d need to calculate stratified samples) are likely on par with any other track. The problem is the cars that race on it. GT3 cars are getting to the point where they are too fast for the track – such an accident could have happened (not likely in similar fashion, but possibly with the consequences) in any national GT championship.
Safety at that corner will be improved, no doubt, but there is no issue with the Nurburgring as a whole – as long as we don’t let cars on it that have completely outgrown the track. GT3 may be in its prime, but this could very well be the beginning of the end for GT3 in its current guise.
Indeed, it should be not. But the problem is not with the circuit. What hsv says is perfectly logical and true.
But I would like to add, that the trajectory that the car followed was exactly what happens when you fail to negotiate a corner. What I mean is, if you leave the actual height it flew out of the equation for a moment, it just continued on the path of the previous straight. And even it hadn’t flown, with enough speed, you could still end up climbing up that little hill.
In local rallies, if there are spectators in areas where they are not allowed, for their safety, the stage does not start. And after a set amount of time, it is cancelled. Maybe an approach of that nature would be more beneficial than scrapping or altering this historically significant circuit.
Rest In Peace to the fellow motorsport fan and our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the injured spectators. And, of course, Jann Mardenborough…
Same thing almost happened in qualifying a few years ago for the N24 to the Schulze car. More ironically I actually had almost this same crash in GT6 with a GTR GT3 at Flugplatz running that same line… blew up verticle and flew and into the wall.
Such a sad day and my heart breaks for the affected. Prayers to all of them.
I’m sorry… Really saddened to hear this. My heart goes out to Jann and the families involved…
I am just speachless right now Glad Jann maded it alive but those spectators
thoughts on the family Holy…….
Oh my God… I hate to imagine how Jann feels :( Hard to live with the fact that you’ve killed an innocent person by accident.
………Dang it, The Green Hell claims another….hope those who got hurt recover soon.
Thoughts to the family members of the fallen spectator….
Very tragic…. Sad to hear.
:( :( :(
Condolences to the family and friends of the individual who lost their life.
And wishes of full recovery to those injured.
It’s so sad to hear. The family of the person killed must be living a nightmare. May the person rest in peace and best wishes to the family. I can’t imagine how Jann feels of this tragic accident.
May God be with and grant peace to those affected. Prayers are going out. This is sad. I’m glad to know almost everyone is okay, though. :(
It is sad to see the bad news but it is even more sad is that this kind of stuff kind of (in a way) needs to happen every now and then so racing development can continue to improve safety in car and on the tracks.
My support to the people and family of the injured and deceased. Also hope Jann Mardenborough shows his racing spirit and does not slow down due to this.
Sad to hear this bad news, my thoughts are with all people concerned….
Terribly sad for the fatality and for the injured and hoping that Jann don’t get traumatized by this event.
This is a really sad month. An airliner crash with no survivors. Singapore’s founding father passed away and now this….
My prayers are with the deceased.
It’s not Jann’s fault that this happened and no one should blame him for it; not even to himself. Accidents happened at the Nurburgring be it as a public road or an official race event.
The Flugplatz has the tendency to give cars ‘wings’ and it cannot be avoided and the crash that followed after was beyond control.
This is really tragic. My thoughts go out to everyone involved. :-(
I never thought this kind of incident was possible in modern days. Aerodynamic technology jas advanced so much since this happed to the Mercedes in Le Mans.
I’m shocked and saddened for the respective families.
Very tragic indeed and my thoughts are with everyone one involved. Hope Jann won’t blame himself too much though. There was literally nothing he could do. Very unfortunate.
After seeing the video, the crash immediately reminded me of Manfred Winkelhocks crash in the 80’s at the Flugplatz.
Sadly, I wouldn’t be surprised if they decided to shave down that little hill at Flugplatz because of this. Although it is very historic, gives the track character and makes it challenging, I’m pretty sure this is a major reason to make the Nurb a bit safer.
I doubt they’ll do that. At most made some changes to the car regulations; maybe forcing them to increase downforce so that it ‘sticks’ to the road.
Whenever I play GT6 on the Nurburgring I always go full downforce regardless of odds against me.
If the driver know that particular section will cause a jump, don’t they off throttle a bit instead of flat out ? Just wondering, I’ll drive around the laser scan nurburging in AC later to find out.
His speed was proper and in-line with 2 cars before him and one that followed. The flat bottom floor gave zero resistance to lift, and the spectator area was directly ahead. Even if lift wasn’t made, that’s a bad area to seat spectators due to dangers of debris in the case of an accident/mechanical failure, etc.
The lift created was unforeseeable. And once it began, unstoppable.
Also, in a secondary view video, a noticeable crosswind can be seen going across the track. Made apparent by a gust of smoke blown and streaming horizontally across the screen from right to left, just as the GTR makes it’s approach towards the Flugplatz section.
Ouch… man – that’s really tragic. I hope Jann is okay, and I hope he is strong enough to continue his racing-career. Would be really sad to lose such a talented driver because of this.
My thoughts are with the spectators and their relatives involved.
Tragic event, but not the first time this kind of accident has happened at this spot. The cars all get light at this point of the track. A gust of wind at the right time and the right angle and the flat floor becomes a sail. This was not a driver error, or mechanical failure, but a truly unavoidable situation.
Thoughts and prayers go to the families and spectators but also to Jann. He will surely be having an emotional time with this.
I’ve seen the video, but will not be linking. It does take off like the CLR and 911 GT1 did in the late 90s. Its one of the most violent accidents I’ve seen in recent memory. I’m glad to see that Janns okay, but its tragic that a spectators life was taken in such horrific circumstances. RIP, thoughts with your relatives.
I’ve seen the video, it looks like the front of the car lifted and was flipped over. Tragic circumstances.
This kind of accident was inevitable. Der Nordschleife is a very dangerous circuit, for both the driver and (as proven here) the spectator. I hope everyone else is OK…
The car made a little jump like always on flugplatz, caught wind under the car and it took off uncontrollably. Nobody’s at fault, just a tragic accident. Prayers are with those involved :(
Another day of perspective, thought’s with all concerned.
It’s always sad to hear when spectators are involved in such an accident. Both for the relatives and the driver
:( damn
Oh gosh, wow. That car is pretty banged up, must’ve been one extremely hard crash. Also, thoughts and prayers out to the spectator’s family, and all of the other spectators injured as well.
All I can really say right now, is :(