Hillclimb courses, unlike purpose-built race tracks, don’t have runoff areas or SAFER barriers, so there’s little room for error. That’s why Switzerland recently had its third big hillclimb crash in less than three months.
Swiss racer Martin Wittwer, 33, was killed over the weekend when he was involved in an accident at Hillclimb Oberhallau, according to Motorsport.com.
Organizers ended the event early after Wittwer, on his final run of the day, crashed his Peugeot 205, sending it over the guard rail into the nearby trees.
The fatal accident comes roughly two months after Richard Hammond, also during his final run, rolled a Rimac Concept_One while filming for “The Grand Tour” at Hillclimb Hemberg. Despite the violent, fiery nature of the incident, Hammond walked away with only a broken leg.
Roughly one month after the TV star’s wreck, Porsche driver Chris Steiner reportedly had a serious shunt at Hillclimb Reitnau. His accident wasn’t fatal, though like Hammond’s, it left him with injuries to his leg.
Thumbnail photo via Flickr/Falk Lademann
