In an extremely unfortunate incident at the ongoing VLN Endurance Championship in Germany, a spectator lost his life following the crash of a British driver’s car. The driver in question, James Mardenborough, crashed his car during the first race of the season, which took place at Nurburgring Nordschleife.
The 23-year-old from Cardiff, who was behind the wheels of a Nissan GTR Nismo, was taken to a nearby hospital after sustaining injuries. Not only this, a few other spectators were injured during the horrific and unfortunate incident. Nissan immediately released a statement after the incident that said, "The team is fully co-operating with the race organisers to conduct an immediate and thorough investigation."
According to reports, the Nissan GTR Nismo being driven by Mardenborough flipped and went out of the track at a high speed. The incident took place at a section of the circuit called Flugplatz. Following the crash, it went through fencing on the side and eventually fell in the spectator area on its roof.
The statement of Nissan, elaborating the damage caused by the incident, added, "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."
VLN, the organising firm, also released a statement with respect to the tragic incident, saying that they saddened and were in solidarity with families of victims. The driver, James Mardenborough, is the son of former Wolverhampton Wanderers, Swansea City, Coventry City and Cardiff City player Steven Mardenborough. He only started racing in 2011 when he won GT Academy, a Nissan-sponsored gaming contest which required him to beat 90000 participants. Other races in which James Mardenborough has competed include 2014 GP3 Series, Britsh GT Championship and Le Mans 24-hours.
