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18th Nov 2018

Race car driver Sophia Flörsch defies odds by surviving a shocking crash

Rebecca O'Keeffe

She’s lucky to be alive.

Yesterday, the Macau Grand Prix was brought to a complete standstill during a Formula 3 race.

German driver Sophia Flörsch went flying through the air after a high-speed crash.

Sophia, who is only 17-years-old, lost control of her car as she sped towards a tight corner and slammed into a wall.

She then sped backwards towards the turn and after clipping the kerb, her car became airborne before she hit fellow driver Sho Tsuboi at incredible speed.

Truly, the footage is hard to watch.

Ferrari junior driver Guan Yu Zhou, who was behind Sophia Flörsch, explained how the crash unfolded after the race.

“First of all it was such a scary moment,” Zhou said.

“Sophia was really close to Jehan, so when Jehan braked early she had no time to react.”

“She hit Jehan’s right-rear, and that spun her around straight into Lisboa, and she flew into the other car.”

“I just hope she’s OK.”

Despite the severity of the crash, Sophia survived, and was conscious when transported to hospital.

A statement from the FIA read:

“A serious incident has occurred on Lap 4 of the 2018 FIA F3 World Cup at Macau involving car #25 Sophia Florsch (GER),” the statement read.

“Following evaluation by medical staff, the driver is conscious and has subsequently been taken to hospital for further evaluation.”

We hope Sophia makes a full recovery, and is back on the track soon!

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With the tagline of “if she can’t see it, she can’t be it,” the 20×20 movement has three targets to reach by 2020:

  • 20 percent more media coverage of women in sport
  • 20 percent more female participation
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