mostly uncompetitive and unreliable, with a total of nine retirements from sixteen rounds. A sixth position in Monaco was Alboreto's only points finish. At the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, which was overshadowed by the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger, whilst leaving the pitlane after a scheduled stop, Alboreto's car lost his loose right rear wheel which bounced through the Benetton, Ferrari, and Lotus pit areas and crews, injuring several mechanics. At the end of the season, he decided to retire from Grand Prix racing, with a record of 194 starts and five Grand Prix wins. 1994–2001: Post-Formula One career Following his departure from Formula One in 1995, Alboreto embarked on a career in the German Touring Car Championship, known as the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft. Racing for Alfa Romeo's factory team, Alfa Corse, the Italian finished 22nd in the championship, scoring four points. Further entries in the International Touring Car Championship and World Sportscar Championship, the latter being with Ferrari, also proved to be fruitless ventures. Alboreto returned to open-wheel racing in 1996, entering the newly formed Indy Racing League (IRL) with Scandia/Simon Racing. The then 39-year-old competed in all three rounds where he finished fourth on his debut at Walt Disney World Speedway; eighth at the Phoenix International Raceway; and retired, due to gearbox problems, at the 1996 Indianapolis 500, his sole entry into the race. Alboreto also ran sports prototypes for Scandia/Simon while in the United States, entering the IMSA World Sports Car Championship with a Ferrari 333 SP. He also entered the Le Mans 24 Hours in a Joest Racing-entered Porsche WSC-95 alongside fellow Italian and former F1 teammate Pierluigi Martini and Belgian Didier Theys, but retired due to an engine failure after completing 300 laps. The following year, Alboreto earned his first and only podium in the IRL at the "True Value 200" held in New Hampshire, where he finished third. A further fifth place at Las Vegas earned Alboreto 62 points during his 1997 campaign which resulted in a 32nd place overall in the drivers' championship. Also in 1997, Alboreto was called to testify at the trial following Ayrton Senna's fatal accident in 1994. He told the tribunal that, in his opinion, Senna's accident was likely caused by a technical failure rather than a driver error. Alboreto won the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans with the same car as the previous year,