Wednesday May 24th, 2000

Italians Giancarlo Fisichella and Jarno Trulli escaped unhurt from a big collision in testing at the new Valencia circuit on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old Benetton driver flipped his car after hitting the back of the slower-moving Jordan driven by Trulli, who had moved over to let his compatriot by, as he came round a right-handed hairpin.

Witnesses said Fisichella, who finished fifth in last weekend's European Grand Prix, hit Trulli's right rear tyre and the Benetton flew into the air, somersaulting once before hitting the ground and coming to a halt upright.

"Fisichella approached the corner at quite some speed, and it was obvious he wasn't aware of Trulli who was driving at a slower speed," said a witness.

"The crash was pretty bad, but thankfully it looked a lot worse than it actually was."

Fisichella looked shaken and walked away slowly, holding his arm. "He is OK, nothing is damaged," said Benetton physiotherapist Mike Chapman.

Trulli drove back to the pits with a broken right rear wing and a deflated right rear tyre and later continued testing in a spare car. Fisichella's Benetton was severely damaged.

It was the second tussle between the two Italians in the last five days.

At the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring on Sunday, Fisichella nudged Trulli at the first corner, causing him to spin off and out of the race.