Maria De Villota, Marussia Formula One Team Test Driver, Seriously Injured

Maria De Villota, Marussia Formula One Team Test Driver, Seriously Injured

A female racing driver has been seriously injured in a crash.

Maria de Villota, a test driver for the Marussia F1 team, was rushed to hospital after her car collided with a lorry at Duxford Airfield this morning.

The accident is said to have happened at low speed after Villota pulled off the track following a lap during which she reached speeds of about 200mph.

Cambridgeshire Police said a woman, believed to be the 32-year-old, originally from Madrid, suffered serious injuries.

Gary Sanderson, spokesman for the East of England Ambulance Service, said paramedics were at the scene.

This morning, the team's official Twitter account confirmed testing would take place at Duxford.

Referring to Villota, the team added: "@mariavillota had her final seat-fitting and pedal test at our Banbury HQ and then headed north to the Imperial War Museum, ready to do battle."

De Villota prior to the Australian GP in March

Another comment said that, after the rain had eased, the "Gods are shining on Duxford".

The crash happened at the start of two days of Formula 1 testing at the site.

This year is the first season the team has competed as Marussia after the Russian sports car manufacturer bought a controlling stake in the former Virgin team.

Timo Glock and Charles Pic drive for its Formula 1 team, which is yet to score any points this season.

Villota is the daughter of retired Formula One driver Emilio de Villota.

In a statement, a spokesman for Marussia said: "At approximately 09.15am, the Marussia F1 Team's test driver, Maria De Villota, had an accident in the team's MR-01 race car at Duxford Airfield where she was testing the car for the first time.

"The accident happened at the end of her first installation run and involved an impact with the team's support truck.

"Maria has been transferred to hospital. Once her medical condition has been assessed, a further statement will be issued."

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