Czech rider Tomáš Enge experienced the worst accident of his career last Saturday in the qualifying race of the Blancpain Sprint Series. In the very first corner after the start of the one-hour race, his Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 took off and did five flips. The Liberec competitor escaped the accident with a broken rib.
The thirteenth race weekend of this year did not bring luck to Tomáš Enge. The Czech rider started in the Blancpain Sprint Series for the third time this year, but the Slovak Štefan Rosina sat next to him for the second time. In May, the Czech-Slovak duo started in Great Britain, where they missed the finish line of the main race when one of the rivals sent the Slovak rider off the track.
"We prepared really diligently for the Slovak race, when on the way to the circuit we stopped at a small private airport in Germany on Wednesday, where we completely tested the pit stops. So we changed drivers and the mechanics practiced changing tires. On Thursday, it was mainly about the promotion of the racing weekend itself, when we were at the press conference and the guests of Dobré rána television Markíza," Tomáš Enge begins his story about the thirteenth weekend.
"Even on Friday during free training, we didn't know how good we were. Not all of them put on new tires, so the times achieved were not telling. The mystery was solved on Saturday morning in qualifying, when we set the eighth fastest time. It wasn't quite to our liking, but the even starting field didn't allow us to talk among the five fastest. I ended up starting the first race from seventh place when one of the drivers was penalized additionally. The start went well for me. On the contrary, the riders in front of me messed up the start and I was subsequently pushed out onto the grass by one of them. Even so, I managed to get about four places. When braking more carefully into the first corner, I then lost one place. It was all in a big rush and very tight. Coming out of it, one Audi in front of me was fast and one on the right was slow, so I had to stick to the left side and at that moment I got hit from the left side by the Mercedes, which threw me and I went into a skid. This was followed by a collision with the slower Audi on the right, and at that moment I knew it was bad," describes the beginning of the accident by the Reiter Engineering team driver.
"At the time of the impact, I was able to drive at a speed of about 180 km/h. Of course, the car was out of control. I hit the guardrails, bounced off, and started to spin over the front and rear. I perceived everything down to the last detail. I was just looking where I was going and thought I would roll over and stop. But as it bounced towards the sky for the second time, I knew it was going to be a big crash and I instinctively put my hands on my chest so that the steering wheel wouldn't hurt my hands. It was like a computer game where the car flies through the air and suddenly stops on the ground and bounces off again and flies. My biggest fear at that point was that I wouldn't get back on the road and get hit by another race car. These types of accidents can end fatally. When the car rolls, thanks to the safety frame in the car and other safety features, the driver can get out relatively unscathed. Fortunately, I froze on the barriers, so my fears were not confirmed. I tried to open the door, which I could, but I couldn't get out of the car at this angle. At that moment, the photographer Martin Straka was there, he held the door for me and I was able to jump out of the car. The rescue team intervened in a flash, when two ambulances and track marshals were immediately on the scene. In the end, I was just in a little shock, but everyone from Slovakia Ring did everything, for which I thank them," Enge described the terrible-looking crash.
During the subsequent examination and X-ray, the doctors discovered a rib fracture, which should not threaten Tomáš Enge's further racing program. The Liberec competitor continues already this weekend at the German Nürburgring as part of the ADAC GT Masters, where he will once again present himself with the strong Chevrolet Camaro GT3 and the German driver Albert von Thurn und Taxis. “I raced with broken ribs already in Indy Car and four years ago in GT. In the racing seat, which is adapted to the rider's body and together with the six-point belts, we have a strengthened chest and back, so it really shouldn't be a problem, but that will be seen only on Friday during free practice. In the ADAC GT Masters, every point is important to us, because we are on the edge of the top ten and we are definitely aiming to get into the top ten in the final standings. The subsequent Nürburgring and then the Sachsenring should not suit our car completely, but I believe that we will fight it bravely," added Tomáš Enge in conclusion.
Source: Tomáš Enge
