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A photographer inside the Grand Prix of Macao bunker, touched by Sophia Floersch's car, revealed the frightening moments of the impact and the immediate consequences of the collapse of the horror.
Hong Kong-based Australian Christiaan Hart was one of five photographers in the stand at the corner of the Guia circuit in Lisbon, capturing the moment when Floersch, a 17-year-old German, flew 276 kilometers on time.
"It was like a missile coming to us," said Hart at the Morning of South China.
The Van Amersfoort Racing driver was first turned to the protective barrier farther into the straight line, a collision that had torn his two wheels off the left side of his axles and was effectively leaving him without brakes.
She then hit a raised "sausage" sidewalk, which propelled her Dallara-Mercedes across the security fence and directly into the photographers' stand.
"I did not see the initial touch, right in front of the camera after looking at the film," Hart said. "We had shot at the front cars early, and then I saw through the camera that she was losing control of us.
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"I thought she was going to slide into the fence and then you will see this thing happen to you a million miles to the hour.
"The next thing you know is a loud bang, and we're all on the ground. We checked to see if everyone was ok, then we got up and checked where the car was.
"Everything happened so fast, it was instantaneous. One minute, you see the car slide, a minute later, the flash passes in front of you, then the sound and you do not have time to think. "
Floersch's car had descended back to the Armco gate at the marshal's post, the automatic fire extinguisher having gone out.
"We were looking around to see what the damage was, and then we looked through the box to see if it was ok," Hart said. "I could see that her hands were moving and we made eye contact, I could tell she was conscious.
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"You're filming the scene, that's why we're here. If you could say she is not conscious, you probably would not have fired.
Most of the photographers, including Hart, were positioned on the right side of the bunker "to get that free kick in the straight line."
But the Japanese photographer Minami Hiroyuki was on the left, which was the hardest hit by the accident. He suffered a concussion.
"It was chaos inside, he was on the floor, a little stunned," Hart said. "He said," Yes, I'm fine "and got up to try to shoot a little bit more, then he sat down again and that's when we knew it was not so good.
"At first no one came – we had to call the doctors below to help."
Local photographer Chan Weng-wang, who was standing under the bunker at the corner of the street, had a laceration of the liver, while the marshal of the track, Chan Cha-in, suffered cuts in the face, an abrasion of the upper wall of the abdomen and a broken jaw.
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"Between the moment we got up from the ground and the moment we looked, it was about 40 seconds and there were already two marshals on site with Sophia and the overseer," Hart said. . "Then another 30 seconds and there were ambulances and doctors, so the answer was very fast.
"Two guys were taken away, they were around the car. One was slightly under the car at one point. They came out very fast, I think the other was hit by debris.
"They were helped very quickly. We saw them removed from the back of the bunker on stretchers. You know that they are aware and alive, but you do not know what happened. "
After finding his bearings. Hart examined the damage in the bunker.
"We told everyone not to go there on the left – you could see the whole back of the bunker was destroyed," Hart said. "We stayed on the right, but the whole structure had changed dramatically.
"We could not go out the back exit, all that had been pushed down. There was a slight gap where we finally managed to get out. "
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Frits van Amersfoort, head of Van Amersfoort Racing in Floersch, said she was "lucky to be alive" and had to have "an angel on her shoulder". The photographers also shave.
"The bunker is a popular place for photographers. Normally, you can accommodate up to 10 people at a time, "Hart said.
"You have to apply for the place, and you get your race awarded. If it was full, it could have been a lot more serious. It was just lucky that day, at that time, there was no one else on the left side who was shooting. "
Hart said it had taken a few days for the situation to end, but Van Amersfoort Racing sent him an email on Thursday.
"They wanted to reach out and check that I did not hurt, which shows that they care," Hart said. "They said they were extremely happy to hear that I was not physically injured, that it was a pretty intense experience and that they were hoping I was fine.
"It was very good, I appreciate their contact, it's something they did not have to do. It shows that they think of everyone. "
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Hart pointed out that he had no intention of suing the organizers of the race.
"We have all signed waivers at the beginning, when you ask for a pass and you get it back. Everyone is aware of the risks, it's dangerous, it's part of it, "he said.
"We are doing our job. Nobody expected it. It's one of those weird things. It's definitely an experience I will not forget.
"In some ways, it's good that we have been there to document it and that everything is going well. It will not stop me from playing motorsport.
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