HOBART (Australia) - AUSTRALIAN Formula One driver Mark Webber suffered a broken right leg when hit by a car on Saturday during a charity multi-sports race, a race official said.

'He'll likely have a pin inserted in the leg today, and spend three days in hospital,' event director Geoff Donohue said.

Webber, who drives for F1's Red Bull team, was riding a bicycle along a road near historic Port Arthur in the southeast of the island state of Tasmania when he collided with a four-wheel drive vehicle, Tasmania Police Sergeant Jon Ford said.

'As a result of the collision, the rider, Mark Webber, suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries,' Sgt Ford said. 'He was attended at the scene by paramedics attached to the event before being airlifted to the Royal Hobart Hospital.' Webber was later transferred to Hobart Private Hospital.

Officials there passed along any requests for updates on his condition to Mr Donohue.

'Mark's in good spirits,' Mr Donohue said. 'Paramedics attached to the event attended to Mark very swiftly and he's had really good treatment at the scene before being transferred to hospital. It was a really unfortunate accident.'

Mr Donohue said it was unclear how much the accident would impact on Webber and Red Bull's preparation for the 2009 F1 season beginning in March, although a broken leg would likely leave him on the sidelines for at least six weeks.

Red Bull has already begun testing for 2009. Testing in Barcelona involved Sebastian Vettel who has joined from Toro Rosso, and five-time World Rally Championship winner Sebastien Loeb while Webber was back in Australia. The team's next scheduled testing session is in Jerez in southern Spain from Dec. 9.

The accident happened while Webber was competing in his own charity event, the Mark Webber Pure Tasmania Challenge, a 250-kilometre challenge using mountain bikes, kayaks and trekking, when the accident happened.

Sgt Ford said the bike leg used open public roads and it was not known whether the stage including the accident scene was cordoned off for the racers.

The challenge, first staged in 2003, is scheduled to end on Sunday in Hobart. -- AP