HOBART, Australia — Formula One driver Mark Webber broke bones in his arms and legs after being hit by a car during a charity multi-sport race, police said.

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

Ford said the Australian driver was competing in his own charity event, the Mark Webber Pure Tasmania Challenge, a 175-mile challenge using mountain bikes, kayaks and trekking, when the accident happened.

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

Ford said the event was being raced on open public roads and it was not known whether the stage along that road was cordoned off specifically for the racers.

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

Red Bull has already begun its testing program ahead of the 2009 F1 season, but Saturday's accident is likely to have a major impact on Webber's preparation for the season, which begins in March.