VIDEO: Flames, horror crash in the DTM championship. David Schumacher suffered a fractured spine

The DTM championship had its next round of the season on the schedule this weekend, this time at the Hockenheimring in Germany. Only sixteen drivers saw the finish, with fans witnessing a huge and horrific looking accident early in the race. David Schumacher took the worst of it…

It was lap six of the German DTM championship when David Schumacher and Thomas Preining came into contact with each other before turn eight. Both drivers then hit the wall very hard.

That was far from all, however, as Dennis Olsen and Rolf Ineichen also collided, with the former’s car spinning out and hitting the wall.

The horror of this crash was then compounded by a burning component that flew out of Olsen’s car.

Of course, after such a huge crash, red flags were immediately waved on the track. Schumacher and co. were then immediately attended to by doctors.

The Winward Mercedes driver was subsequently taken to the hospital in Ludwigshafen, where initial checks revealed a scraped knee and bruising to the lumbar spine. However, Schumacher was discharged home from the hospital.

Fractured lumbar vertebrae

However, according to Motorsport , his father and former F1 racer Ralf Schumacher (the younger of the pair of brothers Ralf and Michael – ed.) has now confirmed that David suffered a fractured lumbar vertebrae and has to wear a corset.

“When David arrived home, he complained of back pain. We decided to go to the hospital in Salzburg for an MRI scan, which revealed a fractured lumbar vertebra. According to the doctors, the recovery will take six weeks,” said Ralf, who was quoted by Motorsport.

According to the latest information, David’s recovery will take place without the need for any surgery. Saturday’s race was eventually won by Austrian Lucas Auer, while Sunday’s race was dominated by German Marco Wittmann.

Sources: DTM, Motorsport