Dutch Formula E driver walks away from brutal crash in Seoul, praises Halo system
The Halo protection system saved Formula E driver Nyck de Vries in Seoul from a possible serious injury, when the Dutch driver slid his electric Mercedes under another car that had come out of the bend on the wet asphalt.
The 27-year-old Frisian was able to get out unharmed. He attributes this to the Halo, a curved bar that protects drivers' heads in the event of a collision.
"Unfortunately, my race was already over on the first lap," De Vries said on Twitter. "Luckily the Halo protected me. The important thing is that everyone is okay."
The E-prix in the South Korean capital Seoul, the penultimate race of the season in the electric racing class, started on a wet track. At the end of the first lap, one car after another shot off the track. A total of eight drivers slid into the fence. De Vries' Mercedes even shot under Sébastien Buemi's Nissan. After the large crash, the race was halted for 45 minutes.
After the break, Mitch Evans drove to the win. The New Zealander narrowed his gap to Stoffel Vandoorne, De Vries's Belgian teammate, to 21 points in the World Cup standings. Vandoorne finished fifth.
The final race of the season is scheduled for Sunday in Seoul. Last year, De Vries took the world title in Formula E. The Dutch driver is now in ninth place in the standings, two places behind Robin Frijns. The Limburger finished in eighth place in Seoul on Saturday.
Reporting by ANP and NL Times