Goodyear workers die in test-drive crash

By Mona Wenisch and Ira Schaible, dpa I Thursday, August 10, 2023

 

NUREMBERG – Two employees at tyre manufacturer Goodyear were killed in a crash during a commercial test drive on Germany’s famed Nürburgring motorsports track, the company confirmed on Thursday.

The two workers were thrown out of the test car during the crash on Wednesday, according to reports. A statement from the Nürburgring said that two people were killed in a “serious accident.”

“We are deeply saddened that two Luxembourg-based Goodyear employees died in a car accident on a test track in Germany on August 9,” Goodyear Germany said in a statement. “We are assisting the local authorities with the investigation.”

The vehicle was being tested in a closed commercial testing area of the complex when the crash occurred, according to a spokesman for the Interior Ministry in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, where the Nürburgring is located.

“A vehicle taking part in the test drives had a single-car accident in the Tiergarten section of the track,” a spokesman for the Nürburgring said. He added that emergency crews responded to the crash but could not save the two people involved.

A police spokesman said an investigation has been initiated into the crash, as is standard procedure.

The Nürburgring, located in the Eifel region of far western Germany, cancelled all tourist drives on the famed, publicly accessible Nordschleife section of the motorsports complex on Wednesday evening.

The Nürburgring is used by professionals as well as amateurs.

In the closed industry areas of the complex, companies and manufacturers regularly test vehicles and products on the Nürburgring using experienced professional test drivers. Accidents causing injuries are extremely rare among commercial test drives.

On the other hand, according to the police, there were 77 accidents during tourist rides on the Nürburgring last year, leaving one person dead.