Ralf Aron Returns To Racing For The First Time Since Breaking His Back At The Bathurst 12 Hour In February.

Aron will team up with three-time 12 Hour champion Luca Stolz in the #80 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 for the Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie event, ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen. This will be the 28-year-old's first race since he sustained two fractured vertebrae after a collision with a stationary car while leading at Bathurst. Johannes Zelger's Porsche was positioned sideways at the blind approach to Forrest's Elbow, hidden from view as Aron and the rest of the lead group came near.

The crash led to a thorough investigation into race control and officiating procedures at Mount Panorama. Aron got back into the cockpit in May at the Mercedes-AMG testing facility in Germany, but the NLS7 event will be his first race since then. “I’m incredibly happy to be making my racing comeback at NLS7, around five months after my accident in Bathurst,” Aron said.

"The last few months have been incredibly intense – from the initial days following the accident, to returning to Estonia, attending numerous medical appointments, and accepting that I wouldn't be able to finish the racing program I had initially intended."

“During that period, the entire motorsport community provided me with incredible support. “After months of rehabilitation and rigorous training, I finally returned to the driver's seat for testing in May. From the first lap, everything felt perfect again. “I'm even more thrilled now that the moment has arrived for my first race back – I'm ready.” Aron and Stolz will drive one of four Mercedes-AMGs participating in NLS7, the longest race of the season, lasting six hours. NLS7 is scheduled for August 1 and will be streamed live on the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie YouTube channel.