Who got Lauda out of his burning car?

His heroic actions were never forgotten by the 3-time World Champion, who remained grateful towards the Italian for the rest of his life. “There was a guy called Arturo Merzario who jumped into the fire and alone pulled me out of the wreckage.

Why did Niki Lauda crash at Nürburgring?

Lauda had also changed his tyres after lap one and was trying hard to make up for the lost time. Just after the fast left kink before the Bergwerk right hand curve, his Ferrari 312T2 snapped to the right and spun through the fencing into an earth bank. The car bounced back onto the track, enveloped in flames.

Did Niki Lauda crash at the Nürburgring?

Forty-five years ago, Niki Lauda survived a horrific, fiery crash at the Nurburgring yet recovered to fight for the 1976 World Championship. In the latest Beyond The Grid podcast, former Ferrari Team Manager Daniele Audetto gives a first-hand account of the crash, Lauda’s recovery, and his heroic return at Monza…

How was Niki Lauda saved?

He called for a vote: The majority of drivers wanted to race, Lunger among them. The margin was a single vote. As you likely know, Lauda’s Ferrari 312T2 crashed, and four drivers—Lunger, Guy Edwards, Harald Ertl, and Arturo Merzario—saved his life. Niki Lauda, left, and Arturo Merzario share a laugh in 2006.

What happened to Niki Lauda face?

The Austrian’s face was burnt and he went into a coma after the crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix but returned to racing after just 40 days. At 27, Niki Lauda was given the final rites in a hospital after a horrific crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix left the reigning Formula One world champion in a coma.

Why did F1 stop racing at Nürburgring?

In 1970, after the fatal crash of Piers Courage at Zandvoort, the F1 drivers decided at the French Grand Prix to boycott the Nürburgring unless major changes were made, as they did at Spa the year before.

Did Niki Lauda get out of the car in Japan?

Niki Lauda quit the 1976 Japanese Grand Prix not only because of the rain. It wasn’t just because he felt that the rain-soaked track was unsafe. To complicate things, Lauda’s tear ducts had been damaged by fire during the horrific crash at the German Grand Prix earlier in the season.