I was thinking that maybe it was like those movies where the car just fits under but maybe the truck was a bit low and she went head-first into the back of the truck. I seriously hope not though.

I am also thinking that the reason for the sudden acceleration could be because maybe she accidentally turned off the pit speed limiter.

I hope she is ok.

Edit: Tweet from BBC. "Spokesman for East of England Ambulance Service says injured F1 test driver @mariavillota has sustained "life-threatening injuries"

Madness. If it's a stuck accelerator pedal, or electronic fault to that effect, that is very concerning. I can only imagine the violence and horror of that accident. With the bumpers positioned as they typically are on a lorry, it's a wonder that she survived at all. I imagine a helmet-first impact as the nose goes underneath. Awful.

There's talk of some footage being known of this incident, does anyone know if that is the case?


From wiki is says this : On 3 July 2012, De Villota was involved in a testing accident at Duxford Aerodrome whilst doing straight line tests of the Marussia, in which her car collided with a stationary transporter lorry at the end of a test run. She was removed from the car with life-threatening injuries and taken to hospital.

Man, flying into the back of a low loader..... yea well, without sounding like a complete twat obviously I just as much as anyone would want her to recover but given the circumstances it does look good and I won't hold my breath over it.

Quote from BlueFlame :

There's talk of some footage being known of this incident, does anyone know if that is the case?

Apparently Sky were there filming today, whether or not they have it on tape remains to be seen.

Quote from Bean0 :

Apparently Sky were there filming today, whether or not they have it on tape remains to be seen.

Well in that sense if she falls victim to the injuries sustained they probably won't release the tape anyway.

Quote from BlueFlame :

Man, flying into the back of a low loader..... yea well, without sounding like a complete twat obviously I just as much as anyone would want her to recover but given the circumstances it does look good and I won't hold my breath over it.

I dont think anyone thinks that - we all are thinking the same thing. Traditionally a serious head injury in Motorsport has always been bad news, Henry Surtees, Senna, Simocelli - it's not looking good but praying that she will be okay. By all accounts the car seems fine which is ridiculous, and I'm guessing this will bolster the argument for more protection for a drivers head after the Wheldon crash etc, which I agree with because whilst it is a freak accident - it's an accident and history is set to repeat itself should nothing be done.

Article suggesting that anti-stall could have caused the car to accelerate into the truck...

http://www.racecar-engineering ... aight-line-testing-crash/

To be honest, I don't think a frame or canopy would have been able to deflect a truck, and I doubt they'd have stopped the car either.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-18685789

An updated report.

This is what it says:

"A Formula 1 driver has suffered life-threatening injuries in a crash during testing in Cambridgeshire.

Maria de Villota was hurt while driving an MR-01 race car for the first time for the Oxfordshire-based Marussia team at Duxford airfield.

The car hit a Marussia support truck which had been used to transport it to the track.

The East of England Ambulance Service said the Spaniard, 32, had been taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.

Emergency medical charity Magpas, which helped to treat Villota at the scene, said she had suffered "facial and head injuries" and was in a stable condition on her arrival at hospital.

BBC Cambridgeshire presenter Chris Mann, who witnessed the crash, said the car had completed a circuit when it "suddenly accelerated" into the back of the lorry.

"From where I was standing it looked like the helmet took the brunt of the impact," he said.

"Strangely, the car suddenly accelerated into the lorry and the car went careering into the side of the loading board."

He added: "There was a terrible moment when everyone was just very shocked by the impact and the suddenness of what had happened."

A Cambridgeshire police spokesman said: "We were notified by the ambulance service of a slow-speed crash involving a racing car and a lorry.

"It looks like the driver has suffered a serious injury and we will be notifying the Health and Safety Executive as it happened on private land.""

Anti-stall makes sense. I don't think it is possible to hit the wrong pedal unless she has to right foot brake. Stuck throttles don't happen anymore and there are various safety protocols in the ECU. For example it will cut throttle automatically if there is too much braking. Schumacher often gets warned that he is overlapping brake and throttle too much.

Hopefully she is okay.

https://twitter.com/edosel/status/220117444088434689

Big picture to see where the impact was. I'm expecting the worse news over the nest hours

You can hear the audio from the crash here http://audioboo.fm/boos/871249

Sounds very odd. Almost like the pit limiter.

Here's the larger image, you can see the tail-lift of the truck in what looks like a nasty place.

Launch control failure?

Quote from Dennis93 :

Launch control failure?

F1 don't have that. Unless they have some sort of automated throttle to do the same things each run, do you you think they are allowed to do that?

Wow... You can also hear two distinct impacts as well.....

Source: https://twitter.com/CarlosSain ... status/220134881009729537

María de Villota has talked with her parents and is perfectly conscious, though she had cuts on her face. We are really happy!

That's a slight relief. Still, if she makes it through this unscathed (without any lasting injury), it's going to take a while for the "amazing" to sink in.

Good news!

Some blamed the truck, which let's be honest, is ridiculous. She simply drove into the ramp, no need to search for excuses like electrical/mechanical failures.

Quote from banfwd :

Some blamed the truck, which let's be honest, is ridiculous. She simply drove into the ramp, no need to search for excuses like electrical/mechanical failures.

If she "simply drove into the ramp" then there is no need to "search for excuses", but how do you know that is what happened? If that is found to not be what happened, they aren't going to just forget the whole thing.

Quote from sinbad :

If she "simply drove into the ramp" then there is no need to "search for excuses", but how do you know that is what happened? If that is found to not be what happened, they aren't going to just forget the whole thing.

Well as I heard it was raining, so maybe that's why she didn't see the ramp.

Quote from banfwd :

Well as I heard it was raining, so maybe that's why she didn't see the ramp.

Ah the eye witness, you should probably talk to the journo's.

Have you even seen the picture of the car? There is no way in hell you could have just driven into the ramp, even in the wet - you have plenty of grip at low speeds to stop and turn unless something fails ( like it did ) and causes you to go off at a odd angle. Despite her not being the most accredited driver in the world, she isn't awful so please don't suggest that she just drove into the ramp. It's not like she clipped it, she full on nose dived. I suggest you look at the picture and hear the audio.

Formula 1 OFFICAL RELEASE - Regarding Maruissa Crash

Quote from Formula 1 :

Marussia test driver Maria de Villota has been taken to hospital after being involved in an accident during a straight-line test at Duxford on Tuesday. De Villota’s car struck a stationary vehicle at the Cambridgeshire airfield.

“At approximately 09.15hrs BST this morning, Maria De Villota had an accident in the team’s MR-01 race car at Duxford Airfield where she was testing the car for the first time,” the team explained in a statement.

“The accident happened at the end of her first installation run and involved an impact with the team’s support truck. Maria has been transferred to hospital. Once her medical condition has been assessed a further statement will be issued.”

The Spaniard has raced in a variety of single-seater and sports car categories, including Spanish Formula Three, the Daytona 24 Hours, Euroseries 3000 and the Superleague Formula championship.

She is the daughter of ex-Formula One driver and British Formula One series champion Emilio de Villota and joined Marussia’s test line-up in March.

OFFICAL UPDATE

Quote from Formula 1 :

Marussia test driver Maria de Villota is conscious and undergoing further medical assessment in hospital, after crashing during a straight-line test at Duxford on Tuesday morning. De Villota’s car struck the team’s support truck shortly after the end of her first installation run at the Cambridgeshire airfield.

“The team can confirm that Maria was transferred by ambulance from Duxford Airfield, where the accident happened, to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge,” said a Marussia statement.

“Since Maria’s arrival at the hospital at approximately 10.45 hours this morning, she has been receiving the best medical attention possible at the hospital, which is the region’s major trauma centre. Maria is conscious and medical assessments are on-going.

"The team will await the outcome of these assessments before providing further comment. The team’s first priority at this time is Maria and her family.”

As well as racing in a variety of single-seater and sports car categories, De Villota completed 300 kilometres of running for Team Lotus (now Caterham) at Paul Ricard last August.