The Nurburgring accident

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GordonS

GordonS

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This is my first time to write here so hi there all GT lovers and greetings from icy Finland. So PD has blessed us with this great game that has finally arrived here in Europe. I´m addicted to the game, no doubt, and I´m at about 35% right now. But especially what I praise is the atmosphere at Nurburgring Nordschleife, the sacred widowmaker.
So back to the title. As the most challenging track in the world, bad accidents will and have happened there. The legendary F1 driver, Niki Lauda, almost lost his life to this track in 1976. I have a question about this accident: Please, could anybody tell me the exact place at the ring where this accident happened (curve´s name)???
 
hitman146
if you look really closely you will see a cross
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Not for him - he didn't die! :scared: From the footage I've seen, it looks to be on an uphill left, just after Bergwerk. Please correct me if I'm wrong...

Lauda had won six of the first nine races to start the season, but at the German Grand Prix on 1 August, Lauda crashed his Ferrari at Bergwerk, a 150 mph section of the Nürburgring, in a massive, flaming accident that still brings shivers when viewed to this day. Suffering severe facial burns and inhaling toxic fumes from the car's burning bodywork, Lauda was expected to die and received the Last Rites in the hospital. In a rare display of sheer determination, he made a near-miraculous recovery to return to the cockpit just six weeks later for the Italian GP.
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Just to post a few quotes from "James Hunt: The Biography" by Gerald Donaldson:

"Nicholas Andreas Lauda, six weeks after he was given the last rites of the Catholic Church, appeared at the Autodromo di Monza, near Milan, not to spectate but to race his Ferrari in the Italian Grand Prix.

His arrival was greeted at first with amazement, then with misgivings. On the one hand this heroic return from his death bed was an act of outstanding courage never before seen in racing. But he was obviously still very frail and weak, his badly disfigured face was difficult to look at, his head was heavily bandaged, and there were doubts about his physical - and mental - fitness. This latter attitude was reflected in the move by his employer, Enzo Ferrari, to enter a third car, for Carlos Reutemann in case the brave Austrian should falter."

Niki finished fourth and it said that when he took off his helmet after the race, his balaclava was soaked in blood because his wounds had opened up during the race.
 
Villeneuve81
Niki finished fourth and it said that when he took off his helmet after the race, his balaclava was soaked in blood because his wounds had opened up during the race.
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That's simply insane. No SPORT should EVER take precedence over your health. I certainly hope he didn't have a wife/family, or he just might be the most selfish man on the planet.
 
hitman146
why do you want to know do you just want to see the place in the game
Well, I must say I don´t really know the track´s history. Because of GT4 my awareness has woken up. So, every piece of information will make this virtual track more "touchable" to me..
..Gotta fly with the yellow bird now...


if you look really closely you will see a cross
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Seems that I have to examine every inch of the the track..
 
CrackHoor
Not for him - he didn't die! :scared: From the footage I've seen, it looks to be on an uphill left, just after Bergwerk. Please correct me if I'm wrong...
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Actually, it's the left, directly before Bergwerk. It's unofficially called the "Lauda Links-knicke". I'd link to the best source, http://www.nurburgring.org.uk , but the site seems to be down.

Exiting Breidsheid you go steeply uphill and right through Ex-Muhle ..., then kink left through Lauda Links-knicke, so named because this is the kink where Nicky Lauda had his huge crash in 1976 and into Bergwerk.
http://www.motorbikestoday.com/trackguides/nurburgring.htm
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Hmmm, time to take the VW Beatle or Fiat 500 on a little tour to really see all the stuff that normally flashes by...
 
hitman146
did anyone see the cross yet if you drive by very closley you will see a cross
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Once again, why would there be a cross for Lauda? HE DIDN"'T DIE THERE!
 
Lethalchem
That's simply insane. No SPORT should EVER take precedence over your health. I certainly hope he didn't have a wife/family, or he just might be the most selfish man on the planet.
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I don't know. A lot of people put their one love over themselves. They are so driven by the want to be ever better (Michael Schumacher to an extent though he knows when his limit is reached) that they forget aobut themselves and those around them, focusing on that one certain thing. It's all through history, people have died for what they believed in. I think it's amazing and honorable when something like Lauda's case occurs. It shows true determination and who REALLY wants to be the best. I would like to think that if I were in his shoes and that happened to me, I would react the same way because of my absolute dedication to racing, automobiles, and anything that has to do with it.

Some people may think it is just a waste of you life and selfish which I partly agree with but hey, look at Achilles: his "hubris" or pride was so great and he so loved what he did that, despite his being given a choice to go and die at Troy but be remembered as a hero or to stay home and live out a happy life, he chose to do what he did best. I think Niki Lauda was much the same as Achilles in a sense and I totally respect him for that.

...just my 2 cents :dopey:
 
Its Crazy, I guess he probably thought he would never race again if he didn't do it as soon as he could. It must take tremendous courage to race again after such an horrific accident.
 
Lethalchem
That's simply insane. No SPORT should EVER take precedence over your health. I certainly hope he didn't have a wife/family, or he just might be the most selfish man on the planet.
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Although it turned out much happier than Lauda's situation, I am reminded of the Indycar race at Laguna Seca ('93?) where Paul Tracy's harness failed while he was leading the race. He drove the last 15-20(?) laps of the race essentially unrestrained -- quite a feat when you consider the speeds they carried through the Corkscrew -- but ended up winning the race.

The thing is, every F1/Indycar driver thinks that the sport won't kill him. It's basically a prerequisite for competing at that level. If you made an honest risk/reward assessment, you'd find another line of work.

Was Lauda reckless? Was Tracy reckless? Selfish? Maybe a little bit, on both counts. But in their own minds, I'm sure they didn't think of it that way. No doubt, both of them felt like they had things totally under control and were not taking undue risk...
 
Not sure if this is a true story or not, but somebody once told me that when Lauda was recovering from his burns, they had to reconstruct his hands. Knowing that he might not regain full motion or flexibility, they asked him to hold his hands in positions which would be most useful for him. Of course, he held both hands out as if gripping a steering wheel. :)

One thing is for certain, if it's not a true story, it's certainly a believable myth, given Lauda's personality...
 
Izanagi
I don't know. A lot of people put their one love over themselves. They are so driven by the want to be ever better (Michael Schumacher to an extent though he knows when his limit is reached) that they forget aobut themselves and those around them, focusing on that one certain thing. It's all through history, people have died for what they believed in. I think it's amazing and honorable when something like Lauda's case occurs. It shows true determination and who REALLY wants to be the best. I would like to think that if I were in his shoes and that happened to me, I would react the same way because of my absolute dedication to racing, automobiles, and anything that has to do with it.

Some people may think it is just a waste of you life and selfish which I partly agree with but hey, look at Achilles: his "hubris" or pride was so great and he so loved what he did that, despite his being given a choice to go and die at Troy but be remembered as a hero or to stay home and live out a happy life, he chose to do what he did best. I think Niki Lauda was much the same as Achilles in a sense and I totally respect him for that.

...just my 2 cents :dopey:
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Indeed. I greatly admire Niki Lauda for what he did, and he is certainly one of my greatest heroes. How many of us, after going through a life-changing(and almost life taking) injury would have the courage to go out and do what we love to do, despite most people thinking that you're crazy and you should probably stay in bed. Most people who get severely disfigured don't even like to go outdoors, this man put himself back on the world stage in front of severe criticism before he had even fully healed, all for his love of motor racing. Niki, I salute you.
 
jbrennen
Not sure if this is a true story or not, but somebody once told me that when Lauda was recovering from his burns, they had to reconstruct his hands. Knowing that he might not regain full motion or flexibility, they asked him to hold his hands in positions which would be most useful for him. Of course, he held both hands out as if gripping a steering wheel. :)

One thing is for certain, if it's not a true story, it's certainly a believable myth, given Lauda's personality...
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This story is true, but it was 'Herk' - Jim Hurtubise , an Indy car driver, who had his burned hands moulded to a steering wheel.

An even more inspiring story is that of Mel Kenyon, "King Of The Midgets' actually LOST the fingers of his left hand to fire in an accident in 1965 - he had a special glove made to connect to a post on the steering wheel so he could race! He went on to finish third at Indy in 1968, star in midget racing and win feature races as recently as the 2003 season!
 
Dont forget Alex Zanardi having both his legs basically mashed into pulp yet his main goal after that was getting back into a car and racing! He even took his old car out on an indy circuit and was still running at race pace with his disability.

IMO Lauda, Zanadi and basically any driver/sportman or woman who has had a crash/injury and continues their proffesion just shows they are dedicated to it.

Lauda and Zanadi were both within days of death and they both pulled through for the same reason, they both wanted to get back into their seat and win races.

For me it just shows you shouldnt give up on anything you want to do. They wanted to drive and win and they almost died doing it and it still didnt stop them!

The world needs more people like that!

Though i am going to look on that part of the track to see if their is anything written on the track about it
 
I thought Lauda had a suspension failure? Also honorable mentions to the other F1 drivers who actually stopeed to help lauda out of the racecar.
 
I really admire these guys for their determination for what they are doing (i dont think that just the money is a motivation for someone to get to the racing seat after losing his 2 legs..),but i think also that this is a bad example in some way for the young racers out here.Because if someone who is afraid of the accidents see that after a major injury there is a way to get back to life and your hobbies,then maybe he will keep pushing beyond the limits without taking in mind the conseqences of all this...Especially if u think that these racers have an extremely high budget and highly experienced medical team that help them get over it,and for sure not anyone in this planet could "enjoy" this kind of treatment...
 
Where the horrible wreck occured is at the left turn immediately prior to Berwerk, which occurs at about the 9.3 km mark (there are markers ever km on the track). This turn is officially part of the Bergwerk complex. This turn is unofficially known as the Lauda-Leftsnick (or Lauda Left-Kink). I assume where Lauda lost it is where the crash barrier has been erected. I know of no cross or marker denoting the spot.
 
Luxy
Actually, it's the left, directly before Bergwerk. It's unofficially called the "Lauda Links-knicke". I'd link to the best source, http://www.nurburgring.org.uk , but the site seems to be down.
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I can confirm this. The so called Lauda kink (not present in every track map, sorry) is the quick left corner just before Bergwerk. There was a bump that, in these years, unsettled the cars a lot (GPLegends memories...).
If you are able to see the tv replay of the crash you can see the whole corner.
 
Lauda, what a hero. I can't think of anyone I have more respect for out of the F1 drivers. He was so brave, so determined, it's just incredible. What's important to remember is that he didn't just come back a shadow of his former self - he fought for points in 76 and then won the championship the following year. He gave up for a while soon after to start an airline business, you wonder what his motivation for F1 was.

Speaking of motivation, another hero from that era is James Hunt. He was a rich kid, who apparently didn't even enjoy racing. He used to throw up on the grid. He just wanted to win the F1 world championship to prove he could do it.
 
Someone died in the Le Mans like a long long time ago.

I think I saw it on TV or in a downloaded video.

Some guy lost it going down one of the straights and ended up on the other side of the wall.


That's pretty harsh..
 
Shingle
Someone died in the Le Mans like a long long time ago.

I think I saw it on TV or in a downloaded video.

Some guy lost it going down one of the straights and ended up on the other side of the wall.


That's pretty harsh..
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Please elaborate.
 
ND4SPD
Please elaborate.
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I think this is what he is talking about:
In 1955, Pierre Levegh was allowed to drive a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR after his excellent previous efforts. He was chasing Mike Hawthorn, when Hawthorn's Jaguar passed a slower Austin-Healey before suddenly entering the pits on the right. This forced the Austin-Healey to move over to the left where the faster Mercedes was approaching with high speed. It ran into the back of the Austin-Healey, got catapulted upwards and crashed into the crowd, disintegrating into parts, killing the driver and 80 spectators, while injuring many others. The race was continued to prevent leaving spectators from crowding the roads which would have slowed down ambulances.

Mike Hawthorn and the Jaguar team continued and won the race while the remaining Mercedes cars (driven by Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss and others) were withdrawn from the race as a sign of respect to the victims.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Mans_24_Hours
 
rossl11588
I think this is what he is talking about:
In 1955, Pierre Levegh was allowed to drive a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR after his excellent previous efforts. He was chasing Mike Hawthorn, when Hawthorn's Jaguar passed a slower Austin-Healey before suddenly entering the pits on the right. This forced the Austin-Healey to move over to the left where the faster Mercedes was approaching with high speed. It ran into the back of the Austin-Healey, got catapulted upwards and crashed into the crowd, disintegrating into parts, killing the driver and 80 spectators, while injuring many others. The race was continued to prevent leaving spectators from crowding the roads which would have slowed down ambulances.

Mike Hawthorn and the Jaguar team continued and won the race while the remaining Mercedes cars (driven by Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss and others) were withdrawn from the race as a sign of respect to the victims.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Mans_24_Hours
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I saw the video of that crash. It was on a show called somethin like "World's Worst Crashes" (go figure). I saw it on OnDemand one night when I was really bored. It was a pretty bad crash, although if I remember right, you couldn't really tell too much because of the camera quality.
 
What about the crash involving the Mercedes CLK-GTR at Le Mans back in 1996? Anyone remember that? Talk about insane...220 MPH lift off, 2.5 flips, about 25-35 feet above the circuit, ended up off track and hitting a tree before coming to a rest in a clearing about 70 feet to the side of the circuit. OUCH :ouch:
 

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