Ralf ready for Indy test

Ralf Schumacher is hoping his season of struggle with Toyota does not result in another horrific Indy incident.

Schumacher has previously suffered at the United States Grand Prix, in particular in 2004 when he was involved in a terrifying accident.

Driving for Williams at the time, Schumacher slammed into the wall coming off the banked curve, sustaining concussion and two minor fractures to his spinal column.

The acceleration was measured at 78g, one of the most severe in motor-racing history, and resulted in the German missing the next six races.

A year later, driving for current team Toyota, Schumacher crashed at the same place due to a left-rear tyre failure.

It was that incident that led to seven teams withdrawing from the race just before the start due to safety concerns.

Understandably, the 31-year-old is hoping to put behind him those accidents and focus on this Sunday’s race at ’The Brickyard’.

“As the home of American motor racing, Indianapolis is a special venue and it has a special atmosphere to go with it,” remarked Schumacher.

“Unfortunately, it has never been a very lucky track for me and I have had a couple of incidents that I would prefer to forget. Now I will look to put those behind me with a more positive visit to the venue.”

Schumacher picked up only his second point of the season with an eighth-placed finish in Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix at Montreal after starting 18th on the grid.

The number of safety-car incidents enabled Schumacher to scramble his way into the points, his first since the season opener in Australia.

In between there has been abject despair, adding: “This season has been a struggle for me, but I remain confident we can turn our form around.

“We scored a point at Montreal and Toyota has a strong record from its races at Indianapolis, so we will hope to give the team a boost with a good result on Sunday.”