Ascari suspension woe

The South African flew off the track on the run up at Indianapolis, narrowly avoiding collecting two other cars. After glancing off the barrier, the car skidded across the track before striking the tyre wall on the opposite side of the road.

"I was just arriving into Indianapolis when the rear end just sat down," said Luberger. "There was nothing I could do. Luckily, I missed the inside wall and aimed for the outside one, it was a fairly big impact. I couldn't drive back to the pits as I would have damaged the gearbox and transmission on the Tarmac."

"The car has performed superbly all weekend and there were no signs of any problems," added team race director Ian Dawson. "Had it been able to return to the pits after the accident repairs could have been carried out but with the tools the driver is allowed to carry Werner was unable to make any repairs to the Ascari."

Ascari had been determined to register a strong finish after being denied a second entry by the ACO.