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Ratzenberger, Roland (Simtek)
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1 pts
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In Saturday qualifying Ratzenberger lost control of his Simtek at 180mph approaching Villeneuve corner. The car was apparently shedding bodywork before it slammed into the concrete wall on the left-hand side of the track. The car impacted heavily and rebounded into Tosa Hairpin. Ferrari driver Jean Alesi, who was back at a Grand Prix (although not driving) after recovering from injuries that he sustained in a crash testing at Mugello, (after the Brazilian Grand Prix,) reported that he saw the front wing come off the Simtek just before Ratzenberger lost control. The session was red flagged instantly and Ratzenberger was attended at trackside for multiple head injuries before he was immediately taken by helicopter to Bolgn’s Maggiore Hospital. Ratzenberger was the first Grand prix driver to die at the wheel since Elio de Angelis’s fatal testing accident at Paul Ricard in 1986. The last driver to die at a grand Prix was novice Riccardo Paletti who was killed after he stalled on the grid at the 1982 Canadian Grand Prix and was hit by Didier Pironi’s Ferrari.
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Austria
