ME Motorsport driver Thomas Rackl unharmed after horrific crash in NLS

ME Motorsport made its return to the ADAC RAVENOL Nürburgring Endurance Series at the KW 6h ADAC Ruhr Cup race. The team from Schwäbisch Gmünd fielded a BMW M2 Racing, driven by Linus Hahne, BMW M Racing Academy member Thomas Rackl and Markus Eichele. Hahne and Rackl were set to complete their permit during the race, so that they may compete on the Nordschleife in more powerful racing cars in future.

Thanks to a strong qualifying performance, the team secured fifth place on the grid in the BMW M2 class. The opening laps of the race also went well for the BMW team.

However, on the fifth lap, the car was caught up in an unfortunate chain reaction at the exit of the Stefan-Bellof-S, on the approach to the Schwalbenschwanz – one of the fastest and most dangerous sections of the Nordschleife. Through no fault of its own, the PROsport Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 was struck by a Porsche Cayman during a lapping manoeuvre, and the driver lost control of the car before colliding with Rackl. The BMW M2 subsequently rolled over several times and was severely damaged. Fortunately, both Thomas Rackl and the driver of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 emerged unscathed from the serious accident. The driver of the Porsche Cayman was subsequently penalised by the stewards.

“In my eleven years in motorsport, I’ve never been involved in such a serious accident. I rolled over several times and was only able to get out of the car largely unharmed thanks to the high safety standards. Many thanks to the staff at the Medical Centre who looked after me so well! Twenty years ago, this would probably have ended very differently, and I’m glad the incident turned out so well. The Nürburgring Nordschleife hasn’t seen the last of us – we’ll be back!” said Thomas Rackl after the accident.

Team principal Markus Eichele added: “I’m proud that we work closely with a manufacturer like BMW, for whom safety is so extremely important. Many thanks for the safety developments that have been incorporated into the cars over the past decades, as this accident certainly wouldn’t have ended so well in the past. Unfortunately, Linus and Thomi didn’t achieve their permit due to the missing laps, but that’s beside the point in the context of such an accident. We will definitely return to the Nürburgring Nordschleife, though due to scheduling conflicts this won’t be until next year.”

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The BMW M2 Cup race car was completely destroyed in the accident; nevertheless, ME Motorsport will compete with three cars at the upcoming BMW M2 Cup race weekend at the Nürburgring, as the team has already borrowed a car for the event.