Driver killed in horrific Nurburgring seven-car crash as second airlifted to hospital
Driver Juha Miettinen has been confirmed dead following a seven-car pile-up at the Nurburgring 24 hour race in Germany, with race control officially halting the event after the tragic incident
The Nurburgring race was stopped(Image: 24hr Nurburgring)
Driver Juha Miettinen has tragically died following a horrific crash at the Nurburgring 24 hour race in Germany.
The race was halted after seven cars were caught up in a pile-up, with the other six drivers reported to be in non-life-threatening condition. A statement from the race control bulletin confirmed the death of the 66-year-old Finnish driver.
The statement read: “During the first race of the ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers (18 April 2026), a serious accident involving seven competitors occurred in the early stages of the race. Following the collision involving several vehicles, race control immediately halted the race to allow for extensive recovery and rescue operations.
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“Despite the immediate arrival of emergency services, the paramedics were unable to save the driver involved, Juha Miettinen (BMW 325i, #121); the driver died in the Medical Centre after all attempts at resuscitation proved unsuccessful.
“The other six drivers involved were taken to the Medical Centre and nearby hospitals for precautionary examinations. None of the injured are in a life-threatening condition.”, reports the Express.
“The race will not resume on Saturday evening. The thoughts of everyone involved in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring are with the bereaved family of Juha Miettinen.
“A minute’s silence will be held in memory of the late motorsport competitor during the grid formation for Sunday’s race at 13:00.”
A red flag halted the race, though it was initially uncertain what had actually occurred. Ambulances were seen racing to the location, with all vehicles instructed to head into the pit lane, and confirmation subsequently emerged that seven cars were caught up in the multi-car accident.
The race was suspended without a timeframe, with an official statement, nearly an hour following the red flag, stating: “Rescue operations for several injured riders are currently in full swing. We will provide an update from Race Control as soon as further information becomes available.”
Earlier in the day, Verstappen’s squad had been hit with a three-grid penalty after teammate Lucas Auer was deemed to have triggered a collision with a Porsche driver. They had initially secured sixth in qualifying, but were demoted all the way down to ninth.
