Bad news comes from the Aragon track for the Alpine team racing in the World Endurance Championship. Ferdinand Habsburg, one of the six starting drivers under contract for this season, has been injured.
Last March 27, the Austrian driver had to take note of two fractures in his vertebrae following an accident which occurred in Aragon, during a test at the wheel of the Alpine A424 LMDh while he was busy preparing for the 6 Hours of Imola, scheduled for the Enzo and Dino Ferrari next April 21st.
After the accident, Habsburg was transported to the nearest hospital for initial tests. Once he returned to Austria, the 26-year-old underwent further tests and two fractures to his vertebrae emerged, although there was no neurological involvement.
The driver's recovery and rehabilitation phase has already begun, but Alpine has not yet taken a position on Habsburg's possible withdrawal from the 6 Hours of Imola. His presence in Emilia, however, remains in strong doubt due to the nature of the injury suffered.
#35 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Paul-Loup Chatin, Ferdinand Habsburg-Lothringen, Charles Milesi
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
Alpine made the announcement of the accident and the pilot's health conditions with a press release which reads as follows: “During the afternoon of March 27, during a test session at Motorland in Aragon with the A424 LMDh, Ferdinand Habsburg had an accident at turn 7”.
“The cause of the accident is still under investigation by the team. The rider was taken to hospital in Alcaniz for initial tests and was then discharged. The following day he returned to Austria, where he underwent further tests and two fractures to the lumbar vertebrae were discovered, without impact from a neurological point of view”.
“Habsburg has already started his recovery, which however does not yet have a well-defined timeframe. This means that time will be needed to understand whether or not he will be able to race at the 6 Hours of Imola. Alpine guarantees Ferdinand all its support and wishes him all the best better for an excellent and speedy recovery”.
Should Habsburg fail to obtain clearance to race at Imola, Alpine could call in his place Jules Gounon, recently announced by the French team as a reserve for the 6 starters.
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