FATAL SMASH 

Driver Juha Miettinen, 66, dead in major seven-car crash during Nurburgring race set to feature F1 champ Max Verstappen

A POPULAR racing driver has died after a huge seven-car crash during an event which was due to include Formula One champion Max Verstappen.

Juha Miettinen, 66, died after he was rushed to hospital following the crash at the Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) race in Germany.

Juha Miettinen, 66, died after the seven-car crashCredit: Instagram/991rsr
 

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An ambulance rushes to the crash siteCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
 

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Miettinen died after he was involved in a huge seven car pile-upCredit: Instagram
 

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The driver (right) posing with teammate Dan Berghult just days before the crashCredit: Instagram
The rest of the event was scrapped after the fatal collision at the Nurburgring in Nurburg, Germany.

Miettinen died at the circuit’s medical centre where six other drivers were also taken for examinations.

The horror crash happened during the first race of the ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers.

It took place during the race’s third lap at the Klostertal exit – a tight hair-pin bend.

Misha Charoudin, driving right behind the huge pile-up, told Viaplay: “There was a very big crash.”

He confirmed other reports that claimed liquid had been left on the track, saying: “Someone left fluid behind and I think six or seven cars crashed into each other, so there is a huge traffic jam.

“You approach that stretch at 220 kilometres-per-hour and if you can’t brake…”

A statement from the organisers said the race was stopped immediately “to allow for extensive recovery and rescue operations”.

It added: “Despite the immediate arrival of emergency services, the emergency medics were unable to save the driver involved, Juha Miettinen (BMW 325i, #121), after he had been extracted from the vehicle; the driver died at the Medical Centre after all attempts at resuscitation proved unsuccessful.”

The other cars involved in the crash were #27 (Wahl/Rönnefarth/Dumarey/Böckmann, Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3), #111 (Becker/Spölgen, 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).

Organisers confirmed that although the other drivers had been taken to nearby hospitals, “none of the injured are in a life-threatening condition”.

Gamota BMW #23 (Zsigo/Kranz/Jahn) were leading the race, which will not be classified, at the time of the collision.

Racing will not resume this evening and a minute’s silence will be held in Miettinen’s memory during the grid formation for tomorrow’s race.

Motorsport reported that a possible oil spill may have led to the huge crash, although there is no confirmed cause.

Max Verstappen‘s team had been given a three grid penalty earlier in the day’s races, when teammate Lucas Auer caused a collision with a Porsche driver.

The team were dropped to ninth on the grid after originally qualifying in sixth place.

Tributes flooded in for the driver, with one writing: “It’s hard to believe what’s just happened.”

Another driver wrote: “I will miss you very much, you have been a role model and a good friend to me for many years, had a very good time on the track and you always helped me not to lose respect for the Nordloop, I am proud to be your friend, I will miss you never forget!”