Motor racing-One dead, six injured

Racing driver Juha Miettinen died and six others were injured on Saturday after an accident at the ADAC 24h Nuerburgring qualifiers that four-times Formula One champion Max Verstappen was due to compete in.



Organisers said Miettinen, who was 66 years old, died after a crash that stopped the race after about half an hour of the scheduled four hours.



All the other drivers were taken to hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.



Red Bull F1 driver Verstappen, sharing a Mercedes AMG GT3 sportscar with Austrian Lucas Auer, was not on track at the time.



"During the first race of the Qualifiers, a serious accident involving seven competitors occurred in the early stages of the race," according to officials .



"Despite the immediate arrival of emergency services, the emergency medics were unable to save the driver involved, Juha Miettinen (BMW 325i, #121), after he had been extracted from the vehicle.



The driver died at the Medical Centre after all attempts at resuscitation proved unsuccessful."



Organisers said the race would not resume and a minute’s silence would be held during the grid formation on Sunday.