The first reliable details regarding Juha Miettinen's fatal accident at the Nurburgring last weekend, during the 24h Qualifiers, have emerged.
Motorsport has learned a side impact proved fatal for the Finn.
The trigger for the multi-car pile-up was an oil spill on the approach to the Klosterthal curve, near the Steilstrecke section. The first car to hit the barriers was the #503 BMW 330i, which crashed head on into the tire barrier.
Miettinen, following closely in his BMW 325i, spun on the same spill. His car slid sideways and struck the rear of the stationary 330i at a 90-degree angle, driver side first.
These T-bone collisions remain among the most dangerous scenarios in modern motorsport, reminiscent of the fatal accidents of Anthoine Hubert and Dilano van’t Hoff.
While the roll cage features an X-structure to protect the driver, this design is primarily effective against lateral impacts into flat walls or barriers. When a smaller, rigid obstacle is hit at high speed, the energy is equally focused on a smaller area. The roll cage on an E90 BMW 325i (V4) can be seen in this video:
In this specific case, the initial impact of the 330i caused its rear to lift momentarily, only to come crashing down exactly as Miettinen’s car struck.
As a result, the point of impact was significantly higher than usual. This meant the main hit was on a vulnerable area above the main safety structures – a space that must remain clear to allow the driver to climb out of the cockpit in an emergency.
Following the initial collision, several other cars slid off on the oil spill, though they avoided Miettinen's BMW. All other drivers involved in the incident were released from the hospital by the following day.
No knee-jerk reaction this time
The response to this accident differs greatly from Jann Mardenborough's 2015 crash, which claimed the life of a spectator.
On that very day, DMSB president Hans-Joachim Stuck received a call from FIA president Jean Todt, who was threatening to revoke the Nordschleife's racing license.
That pressure led to frantic measures, including a temporary ban on the fastest car classes and the 200km/h and 250km/h speed limits being introduced at certain sections of the track.
This time, such drastic discussions are absent, which is partly due to the nature of the accident. Regarding liabilities, there is a significant distinction between the death of a driver, a marshal or a spectator.
Although it sounds macabre, a driver losing control on a fluid spill can be considered an "inherent risk" of the sport as it is a far more predictable scenario than a car flying into spectator zones.
As per protocol, the FIA, the DMSB and the public prosecutor's office have launched investigations. These will take place behind the scenes, with ADAC Nordrhein providing a detailed report to the governing bodies.
Immediate changes for the upcoming 24-hour race are not expected. Whether further safety measures will be implemented will depend on the final analysis of the reports.
Juha Miettinen is the first driver to die during an NLS or 24h-related event since Wolf Silvester in 2013, though Silvester’s passing was attributed to health issues. The last driver to perish due to an actual crash during these events was Leo Lowenstein in 2010.
