Two tyre engineers killed in car crash at Nurburgring circuit in Germany

Tyre giant Goodyear has confirmed two of its employees were killed while testing at the iconic Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit in Germany earlier this week.

Munich-based publication Merkur reports the fatal crash occurred on August 9 local time during an ‘Industry Pool’ session at the race track – which are exclusively reserved for automotive companies such as Goodyear to test vehicles.

The car reportedly crashed at the ‘Tiergarten’ S-curve section of the 20 kilometre-plus ‘Nordschleife’ layout, which is preceded by the long Döttinger Hohe straight – where performance cars often eclipse 250km/h.

YouTuber and racing driver Misha Charoudin – who films videos, works as a driving instructor on the Nurburgring, and lives next to the circuit – uploaded a post to social media platform Instagram, claiming a “broken part on the track punctured their tyre” which ultimately led to the fatal crash.

In a media statement issued to Merkur, a spokesperson for Goodyear Germany said the company was “supporting the local authorities in the investigation”, while being “deeply saddened” by the deaths of its two employees.

The Nürburgring subsequently cancelled all remaining track activity for the day, which was due to include ‘touristenfahrten’ (tourist ride) session where members of the public can drive their road car on the iconic race track.

While there have been more than 70 reported deaths at the Nürburgring in racing or private testing conditions, it is estimated a further 100 or more motorists have died during touristenfahrten sessions – the most recent of which occurred in 2021 when a Mazda MX-5 crashed into a recovery truck.

In 2010, famed Toyota and Lexus test driver Hiromu Naruse was killed en route to the Nürburgring after he reportedly crossed into oncoming traffic while driving a special edition Lexus LFA supercar on public roads, hitting a BMW 3 Series head-on.

Despite wearing a racing helmet, Mr Naruse was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the incident. The occupants of the BMW were also wearing racing helmets and were taken to hospital with non-fatal injuries.

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