(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves emerged unhurt from a spectacular air-borne crash in the first hour of practice on Wednesday for the 99th running of the fabled race.
Castroneves had just turned a lap of 219.183 mph (352.74 kmph) on the 2.5-mile oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway-his first lap of the scheduled six-hour training session-when the 40-year-old Brazilian's car spun while running on the bottom of the track in turn one and struck the barrier.
The car cartwheeled end over end before coming to rest on all four wheels. Castroneves was examined at the infield medical centre and released.
"The car was really good and I am very blessed. Unfortunately, I still do not understand what happened," Castroneves said.
"I got loose in turn one and spun out. The good news is the impact wasn't very strong and the landing was smooth as well. In all aspects, I have to say I was very lucky there was no big shunt.
"The accident was most impressive, but the good news is I am feeling very good. This just set us back one day."
Qualifying for the May 24 Indy 500 are on May 16 and 17.
"We're playing with new areas from the aerodynamic standpoint, and of course, going backwards at that speed, you don't know what kind of lift it had," said team owner Roger Penske, the race strategist for Castroneves.
"But, obviously, it got airborne, which we were surprised (about). We'll take a good look at it."
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