Overview
- The crash that stopped the DTM race on Saturday involved Maximilian Paul’s GRT Lamborghini striking Kelvin van der Linde’s Schubert BMW on the driver’s door and caused an almost one-hour red flag.
- Paul suffered a lower-leg fracture and a lumbar vertebra fracture and underwent surgery; his team says he will remain in hospital for days before starting rehabilitation and is expected to be sidelined for months.
- Van der Linde escaped major injury, reporting bruises and contusions, thanking BMW for the car’s protection, and withdrawing from Sunday’s race while aiming to be fit for Oschersleben in three weeks.
- GRT’s preliminary analysis cites an oil trace on the racing line as the likely trigger but that finding is disputed by other teams and the official investigation into the precise cause remains open.
- Event organizers and ADAC defended the Norisring’s safety, praised the swift rescue and medical response by the Motorsport Club Nürnberg, and said the incident reflected a chain of unlucky circumstances rather than a unique track flaw.