Koblenz, Aug. 10, (dpa/GNA) – Two people are dead after a commercial test drive on Germany’s famed Nürburgring motorsports complex ended in a crash.
According to reports, the two drivers were ejected from the test car during the crash on Wednesday. A statement from the Nürburgring said that two people were killed in a “serious accident.”
“A vehicle taking part in the test drives had a single-car accident in the Tiergarten section of the track,” a spokesman for the Nürburgring said on Thursday. He said emergency crews responded to the crash but could not save the two people involved.
The vehicle was being tested by a company when it crashed on a closed commercial track in the complex, according to a spokesman for the Interior Ministry in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, where the Nürburgring is located.
It was not immediately clear what kind of vehicle was being tested or what companies were involved.
A police spokesman said an investigation has been initiated into the crash, as is standard procedure.
The Nürburgring, located in the Eifel region of far western Germany, cancelled all tourist drives on the famed, publicly accessible Nordschleife section of the motorsports complex on Wednesday evening.
The Nürburgring is used by professionals as well as amateurs.
In the closed industry areas of the complex, companies and manufacturers regularly test vehicles and products on the Nürburgring using experienced professional test drivers. Accidents causing injuries are extremely rare among commercial test drives.
On the other hand, according to the police, there were 77 accidents during tourist rides on the Nürburgring last year, leaving one person dead.
GN