Niki Lauda visits site of near fatal crash

UPDATE The correct site of Lauda's crash was Nurburgring, not Nurenberg. Nuremberg is where the Nazis were tried, and several were executed, after WWII. Nuremberg and Nurberg are two separate towns with very different histories.

07/19/11 During the first lap of the 1976 German Grand Prix, Niki Lauda's Ferrari 312B2 spun and hit an embankment off the side of the track. His helmet became dislodged form the impact, and the car fuel tank ruptured. The car was then hit by another, and it caught fire. Niki Lauda escaped with his life thanks to the combined actions of fellow drivers Arturo Merzario, Guy Edwards, Brett Lunger and Harald Ertl rather than by the ill-equipped track marshals. At the time, safety vehicles took about 10 minutes to reach the driver, since the accident occurred several miles along the circuit.