BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) – Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic crashed his race car during a test ride on Saturday but was not injured, his spokesman said. Gasparovic, 65, has been racing for about 30 years and refused to quit even after his election in June 2004, his spokesman Marek Trubac said. Gasparovic swerved off the track during a test ride ahead of today’s Slovakia Grand Prix in Piestany.

“This is not his first such incident,” Trubac said.

He said Gasparovic’s specially adapted and reinforced car slammed into crash barriers at 40 to 50 miles per hour.

After a medical checkup, Gasparovic said he hopes his car could be repaired “so I could race again,” Bratislava’s private TA2 TV quoted him as saying.