TEEN F3 starlet Sophia Floersch “had an angel on her shoulder” to survive a horror crash that resulted in a broken vertebra — which has required SEVEN-HOUR surgery.
It could have been so much for the German, 17, who was travelling at 171mph when she careered over a barrier and into a photographers’ bunker in Macau.
A press spokesman for Macau’s health authority said: “She was admitted for surgery at 10am and it is still ongoing.”
She could have been killed, but Frits van Amersfoort, the owner of Van Amersfoort Racing, has been counting his blessings.
He told the BBC: “It was nearly a rocket. Surviving was incredible.
“We reckon she was travelling at 171.6mph at the time.”
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The Dutchman reckons that if she had collided with the race barrier, Floersch would have been killed.
But she collided with the back of Jehan Daruvala’s car, over a kerb and into the vehicle of Sho Tsuboi, which launched her 10ft into the air, before she flew into the temporary photographers’ structure in China.
Van Amersfoort added: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this. I haven’t seen all accidents in motorsport but this was surely one of the worst I’ve ever seen.
“We got some information from social media while we were waiting at the door of race control, but when you look at those images it is heartbreaking so we were thinking of the worst.
“It took quite a long time before the race control could say anything about the health of Sophia – everyone can imagine that’s not a nice thing to have.”
Floersch tweeted on Sunday that she is “fine” — as she heads for surgery and the long road to rehab before getting back behind the wheel.
She said: “Just wanted to let everybody know that I am fine but will be going into Surgery tomorrow morning.
“Thanks everybody for the supporting messages. Update soon.”
Tsobi, a marshall and two photographers were seriously injured in the crash, but all are alive.