Bathurst 12 Hour: Mercedes driver suffers broken back in horror crash

Credit for photo: Gruppe C — Photo: © IMAGO

Racing News

Mercedes driver suffers broken back in horror crash

Australia's biggest race did not end well for one Mercedes AMG driver

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Monday 16 February 2026 20:45

Mercedes AMG driver Ralf Aron has revealed the extent of his injuries after a horrifying crash took place at the Bathurst 12 hour race on Sunday.

The iconic motorsport event is Australia's most popular race, but this year's endurance fixture was littered with shocking crashes, one of which featured a kangaroo and a rather traumatised driver.

But outrage has ensued after a serious crash involving Mercedes AMG driver Aron and a stationary vehicle that left the Estonian physically crawling across the track, with the 27-year-old now revealing that he suffered two fractures in his back during the incident.

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Aron had been leading the race after a safety car restart when he came to the top of the mountain and crashed head-on into the side of the stationary No.79 TSUNAMI RT Porsche of Johannes Zelger.

Zelger had previously spun out on the section of the track before Forrest's Elbow, with both his car and the No.14 Aston Martin of Damien Hamilton stranded across the track.

With no time to react as he came over the hill, Aron careered into the front of the Porsche at high-speed, bringing out the red flags and marking the first red flag interruption at the 12 hour event since a race-ending stoppage in 2018.

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Aron wants race control meeting after 'serious' Bathurst crash

Aron's No.77 car immediately caught fire as the former race leader scrambled to get out of the vehicle before collapsing onto the track, visibly in serious pain.

The crowd were left screaming at Aron to try and lift himself up to move away from the car as the flames began to get out of control. The driver then dramatically made his way across the track, avoiding oncoming cars and gripping his back in agony before rolling onto the grass bank on the other side of the barrier.

Aron was taken to Orange Hospital for further evaluation, and has now taken to social media to provide an update on his condition.

The Mercedes driver posted a picture of himself on Instagram in a hospital bed, giving a thumbs up to the camera as he held onto a 'get well soon' teddy bear. The accompanying caption provided an update on his injuries whilst also laying out his intentions to meet with Bathurst race control to discuss the severity of the accident to avoid anything similar happening again.

"First of all, I would like to thank everyone for the incredible amount of messages that have reached me. The support over the past days has truly meant a lot to me," the post began.

"I also want to especially thank the medical team on site who took care of me immediately after the incident. Their professionalism and quick response made a huge difference.

"Considering the circumstances, I am doing fine and my condition is stable. I suffered two fractures in my back, but I have full movement and sensation throughout my body, which I am very grateful for. Also very happy to see that Johannes Zelger was able to walk away from the crash.

"I have raced on many street circuits around the world, including Macau, Pau, the Norisring and even challenging places like the Nordschleife. I have a lot of experience in these environments, and I understand the risks that come with this type of racing.

"The situation in Bathurst was a serious one, and for that reason I would like to have a meeting and open discussion with race control to share my experience and perspective. This is not about pointing fingers. It is about understanding what happened and making sure we can prevent situations like this in the future, so that racing at this beautiful track can be as safe as possible for everyone.

"I will work super hard to be back behind the wheel as soon as possible and hopefully have another crack on the mountain next year!

"I would also like to thank Mercedes-AMG for building such a strong car and for giving me the protection that allowed me to get out on my own. Thank you as well for all the support. A huge thank you to my team Craft-Bamboo and my teammates Lucas Auer and Maximilian Gotz who have stayed by my side throughout this difficult situation.

"My stay in Australia will be a bit longer than expected, but I am very happy that my mom and dad are flying over to be here with me during this time."

Aron's brother, Alpine F1 reserve driver Paul Aron, also showed his support by commenting below the post with multiple red hearts.

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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