Former Macau Grand Prix champion Andre Couto airlifted to Hong Kong hospital after being seriously injured in Zhuhai crash
The first and only Macanese winner of the prestigious Formula Three Macau race is recovering in a Hong Kong hospital with a fractured vertebra after a horrendous front-end smash at the China GT Championship in Zhuhai
Former Macau Grand Prix champion Andre Couto is recovering in a Hong Kong hospital after suffering a horrendous front-end impact at the China GT Championship in Zhuhai over the weekend.
Couto, the Lisbon-born Macanese driver, who became the first and only Macau Formula Three champion at the prestigious race in 2000, had to be airlifted by helicopter from Zhuhai to Hong Kong in the early hours on Sunday after suffering a fractured L1 (lumbar) vertebra following a crash in the third round of the China GT Championship at the Zhuhai International Circuit, across the border.
According to a press statement from organisers of the China GT Championship, Couto, 40, lost control of his Spirit Z Racing Nissan NISMO GT-R GT3, which resulted in the car skating across the gravel trap and making front-end impact into the tyre barrier.
The incident occurred in Saturday’s GT3 race on lap 15 at the high speed turn 6 kink in treacherous conditions in a race that was marred by multiple incidents triggering suspension of the race no fewer than three times.
Couto was conscious and transported to Sun Yat-sen University No 5 Hospital in Zhuhai where he underwent a CT scan that revealed a fracture to his L1 vertebra. Despite the pain sustained in the 160km/h impact, Couto was talking and in good spirits, surrounded by family and friends as well as personnel from the China GT Championship.
