Aiello escapes massive DTM crash

The first turn at EuroSpeedway Lausitz, part of its two-mile tri-oval, has not been used by the DTM before this weekend, although it was tested last year. Aiello was on his final run of the first test session when the accident occurred.

The rear end of his Abt Sportsline Audi TT-R snapped out of control as he reached the middle of the 140mph bend, which is approached at over 160mph. Its rear window popped out and was flung high into the air, robbing his car of rear downforce and any chance of saving the slide.

The car spun once before hitting the wall with its right-hand side, first with the front and then the back. The car slid to a halt some 70 metres away, and was overtaken by one of its own wheels that had been torn off in the impact. Aiello immediately climbed out of the car and waited for the rescue services to attend.

"I just lost the car in the corner," Aiello told autosport.com. "To be honest, I don't know if it was a tyre failure or something. But this kind of accident can happen at a corner like this. It was a very big hit, there was a lot of smoke everywhere. I have a sore neck, but that is all."

Drivers have questioned the wisdom of using the corner this weekend in light of Aiello's crash.

"I am not happy about it, but that's not a reason to change it," commented Aiello, whose car is now being examined by the Abt team to see if it is worth rebuilding or not.