Jani Upbeat Despite Big Crash

Yoshimoto was tapped off track while attempting to overtake a slowing Gianmaria Bruni up the hill, hitting the barriers at the side of the track before being thrown back into the middle of the circuit.

Jani, who had slowed for the yellow flags being waved for Ernesto Viso's crash just over the crest of the hill, had no way of avoiding the Japanese driver, hitting him at over 210 kilometres per hour.

After his return to the track Jani noted: "I had two impacts - one on Yoshimoto and one on the rail, and on the rail I almost flipped. [After the impacts] I couldn't see - my eyes were gone somehow.

"I couldn't see, and I couldn't stand very well because my back was hurting too much. They took me to the hospital, checked the spine and then said I had probably just taken some big hit on my spine, and that's why it was hurting so much."

Jani stated that he felt fine after returning from hospital, before adding: "I've got blue knees, blue elbows, blue ribs and all over my back - just everywhere. My eyes are better now, although my back still hurts a lot."

Yoshimoto felt sorry for the Swiss driver, although he was as much of a passenger in the accident as Jani was: "I got pushed over by Bruni, and I went over the white line or the grass or whatever.

"I just instantly lost it and hit the barrier in a big impact, and then came back over and Jani hit me. Poor Jani - there was nowhere to go. We couldn't see anything - for Jani there was nothing he could do to avoid it, and I feel sorry for him."

Both cars were destroyed in the incident, and will need to be replaced in time for the final rounds of the GP2 series, to be held in Bahrain on 29/30 September. The teams were planning to send the existing cars directly to the Gulf state, but are now trying to acquire new cars or enough spares to construct a car in Bahrain.

"It won't be the same car there," Jani admitted. "It'll be a new car, because at the moment you can throw away this car - the engine, gearbox, everything was broken, everything. I mean, even two dampers were broken, my engineer told me."