Twenty minutes into the final qualifying session, Roland Ratzenberger failed to negotiate the "Villeneuve curva" in his Simtek; he then hit the concrete barrier wall almost head-on and was injured a lot. Although the survival cell (a part of the car) stayed largely together, the force of the crash caused a basal skull fracture. Ratzenberger, in his first year as a Formula One driver, ran over a kerb at the "Acque Minerali" corner on his previous lap, causing a fault in his front wing. Rather than come back to the pitlane, he continued on another fast lap. Going at 190 miles an hour (306 kilometres an hour) his car's front wing failed, leaving him unable to control it.