Juha Miettinen crash details: Driver passes away following wreck during ADAC 24h Nurburgring Qualifiers

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Juha Miettinen crash details: Driver passes away following wreck during ADAC 24h Nurburgring Qualifiers originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Driver Juha Miettinen has passed away following a seven-car crash during the ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers on Saturday, April 18, in Germany.

Miettinen, 66, was racing to compete in the Nürburgring 24 Hours, a 24-hour sports car race. It is held on a 13-mile track through the German hills, and the course reportedly has more than 150 corners and barriers close to the track.

The wreck occurred during the first race of the qualifiers. It brought out a red flag to clear the debris from the track, but then the race was suspended and eventually cancelled. There will be a minute's silence ahead of Sunday's race in Miettinen's honor and memory.

Here is what we know about the fatal wreck that caused Miettinen's death.

Juha Miettinen crash details

The seven-car crash occurred in the first qualifying race on Saturday, April 18.

The race statement read, "During the first race of the ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers (18 April 2026), a serious accident involving seven competitors occurred in the early stages of the race. Following the collision between several vehicles, race control immediately halted the race to allow for extensive recovery and rescue operations. Despite the immediate arrival of emergency services, the emergency medics were unable to save the driver involved, Juha Miettinen (BMW 325i, #121), after he had been extracted from the vehicle; the driver died at the Medical Centre after all attempts at resuscitation proved unsuccessful."