On 1st August 1976, this man became immortal.
BBC NEWS 2. August 1976
Formula One racing driver Niki Lauda is in a critical condition in hospital after an horrific accident at the Nurburgring Grand Prix in Germany.
The Austrian-born driver became trapped inside his Ferrari after it swerved off the track before bouncing back into the path of the oncoming cars and catching fire.
Fellow driver Guy Edwards managed to avoid the blazing wreckage but Harald Ertl and Brett Lunger both hit it.
All three drivers raced to the burning Ferrari and, with the help of the Italian driver Arturo Merzario, who also stopped, eventually managed to pull 27-year-old Lauda from his vehicle.
Lauda was basically sitting in the middle of a fire and I would guess it would be about a minute before we managed to get the belts undone.
In the meantime Ertl had got a fire extinguisher from somewhere and was aiming it towards the central cockpit area so he was able to keep the fire under some sort of control.
Lauda was conscious most of the time and was saying ‘get me out’.
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Within six weeks of the Nurburgring accident Niki Lauda was back behind the wheel.
He fought for his life for several days following the accident and suffered horrendous burns to his head and face.
Part of one of his ears was burnt off and his tear duct mechanism was severely damaged which affected his vision in subsequent races.
Lauda won the World Championship a total of three times - in 1975, 1977 and 1984. He retired from F1 in 1985.
Horrible Circumstances. More Than Enough Reasons To Quit. His Only Choice, WIN
