Sophia Floersch Posts Update After 11 Hour Surgery

German driver Sophia Floersch was involved in a frightening accident on Sunday in Macau. The 17-year old was racing in the F3 category when the incident occurred. She lost control at around 280 km/h and vaulted over another car, spearing through the fencing. She suffered a fractured spine but fortunately her spinal cord escaped unscathed. Floersch was reported as conscious and responsive, but will have to undergo several surgeries.

On her Instagram, she posted, “I survived the operation which took 11 hours well. Hope from now on it only gets better. I have to stay a few more days in Macau until i am transportable. I want to thank all of my fans for every single get-well wishes, which I now start reading. This really motivates me and gives me courage. My thoughts are also with everyone who was involved in the accident. I hope everybody is healthy. At the accident were really nice people, which I still have in my mind.”

Further in her post, she thanked everyone who sent in their well-wishes. She also thanked the doctors, the officials, team and teammates, and finally Dallara for their strong chassis.

“Thank you for all the encouraging, calming words in these tough minutes in my car. A real big thanks to the medical staff here in Macau for the friendly and professional treatment. A huge thank you to the local FIA rescue team, Mercedes, HWA, the FIA and their medical team in the background and the Macau GP organisation, who support me in the best way. Also a special thank to Dr. Riccardo Ceccarelli and last but not least my Team Van Amersfoort Racing, Facure Galia and Felix Habsburg, who all suffer with me – you are phenomenal. I’m going to come back! BTW… Dallara has build a very stable chassis”

The fact that Sophia Floersch has escaped with her life is a great testament to safety in motorsport. A couple of decades ago, nobody would have been able to survive a crash like that.