Veteran racer Juha Miettinen passed away on Saturday during the opening hours of the Nurburgring 24 Qualifier. He was 66 years old.
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The incident occurred during the first race at the historic circuit in Germany. A seven-car crash brought out the immediate red flag, and safety crews responded to the incident.
This incident collected the No. 27 PROsport Aston Martin, No. 111 JS Competition BMW 325i, No. 121 Keeevin BMW 325i, No. 410 rent2Drive Porsche Cayman, No. 448 Porsche Cayman, No. 503 GITI Tire BMW 330i, and No. 992 Manthey.
"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 official Nurburgring X account said in a statement.
"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.
"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."
The Nurburgring account also noted that they will hold a moment of silence for Miettinen ahead of Sunday's race at the circuit.
A self-described "amateur racing driver," Miettinen competed in the NLS (Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie). He was a member of the BMW family, and he achieved some success in this role. Last week, he and Dan Berghult scored a class win while finishing 89th out of 139 total entries.
"Heartbreaking news from the Nürburgring," BMW M Motorsport said in a statement. "We are shocked and deeply saddened by the fatal accident of Juha Miettinen.
"We lost a member of the BMW racing family under tragic circumstances. Our thoughts are with his family and friends."
