Photo:Associated Press
Michele Alboreto was at the wheel on a straight section when his car went off the track, hit a fence and flipped over.
"Some 400 meters from the south bend his car went off to the right and left the track for reasons as yet unknown," local police spokesman Berndt Fleischer was quoted as saying in Thursday's Bild newspaper.
"His car hit a metal fence and flew in the air for some 100 meters. He was killed instantly. The car was destroyed."
Local police and state prosecutors were investigating the cause of the crash and asked for the car to be left on the track, one of the most modern circuits in Europe and situated some 145 km south of Berlin.
Audi said the car involved in the accident had already completed thousands of kilometers on many circuits in preparation for the 2001 season without any problems.
An engineer and an expert from Audi were sent to the Lausitzring to assist the investigators.
"I regret that we have nothing to add to our statement from Wednesday night," said Audi spokesman Rainer Nistel. "We have no new fact on the cause of the accident."
Lausitzring security adviser Klaus Steinmetz was quoted as saying a tire burst might have caused the crash.
"I don't want to go any faster than the investigation but all the known details suggest that," Steinmetz was quoted as saying by daily Tagesspiegel in an interview to be published on Friday.
Steinmetz told the newspaper that the left-rear tire might have exploded, which would explain why the car suddenly went off to the right.
The adviser, who did not witness the crash, added that from what he knew, he thought neither the driver nor the track were responsible for the accident.
Lausitzring manager Hans-Joerg Fischer said ambulances stationed at the track had taken two minutes to reach the scene of the accident.
A helicopter arrived three minutes later but the doctors said they could do nothing to save the driver, he added.
Fischer said the accident had nothing to do with the track.
"It could have happened on any circuit," he said, adding the section of the track where the accident occurred would be named after Alboreto in a tribute to the late driver.
Click pic to go back to homepage:
Email me with comments or visit my guest book Guest Book
Created and Designed by John Favata
