Horrific A1GP Crash In Sequence Photos

Hayanari Shimoda off at turn 1 at 240kph...(click image to enlarge)
Flips across the gravel trap...(click image to enlarge)
The Team Japan car starts to disintegrate (click image to enlarge)
As the engine seperates from the cockpit...(click image to enlarge)
Then smashes into the concrete barriers almost head-on...(click image to enlarge)
Bounces off the wall after the huge impact...(click image to enlarge)
Comes to a rest in a mangled heap as safety marshalls sped to the scene...(click image to enlarge)
Medical doctors took care to extricate Shimoda...(click image to enlarge)
Shimoda conscious as he left for the hospital...(click image to enlarge)

Lola Chassis Tub Intact and Driver Survived

A1 Team Japan Hayanari Shimoda should count himself very lucky to survive this horrific crash at 280kph in Australia's Eastern Creek circuit.
The Lola built car hurtled itself off the track, skimmed across the sand track, with the car breaking up into 2 sections before smashing into the turn 1 wall head-on!
It was a clear testimony of how good the integrity of the Lola tub is.
In a media statement by A1GP, we have been informed that Hayanari Shimoda has been declared fit this morning following his high-speed accident in the A1 Grand Prix of Nations race held yesterday at the Eastern Creek Raceway. He has spent the night in the High Dependency Unit of Westmead hospital under the care of the trauma team who discharged him today after confirming all the tests they ran on him were fine.
A1 Team Japan’s Team Manager, Malcolm Swetnam said: ‘We were concerned about his condition after such a heavy impact, however, the news we received this morning that he was recovering well was just what we wanted to hear.’
A1 Grand Prix’s Global Operations Manager, John Wickham, responsible for all the A1 race cars said: ‘The massive accident that Hayanari Shimoda suffered proved the strength of the A1 chassis. We have always made driver safety one of the prime concerns of the A1 Grand Prix series and everyone involved in the building of our cars felt yesterday’s accident proved the strength of these cars. We are all delighted that he is recovering well.
The 21-year-old who was having his first drive for A1 Team Japan was born in Tokyo and started his racing career in karts at the age of 13. He raced in Formula Renault series and sports cars in Europe and Japan from 2001 to 2004 and when he raced in Le Mans in 2003, he was the youngest driver in the race.
Max Revson
Photos with thanks from Chris Ormerod and Trent Wallis