Just minutes before the end of two hours of night testing at the Circuit de la Sarthe on Wednesday, Callum Ilott was involved in a serious accident on the famous Esses between the Dunlop chicane and Tetre Rouge, ending the session slightly early.
Although cameras did not show Ilott running off the road and hitting barriers, images of the aftermath of the accident showed extensive damage to the front of the #12 Porsche 963 LMDh, with several marshals arriving at the scene of the accident.
In a statement released on Thursday morning, Jota revealed that Ilott emerged unharmed from the crash, but this was already quite clear immediately afterwards, as he was shown climbing out of the cockpit on his own two feet.
“After last night’s accident at Le Mans with Callum Ilot and the #12 Porsche 963 Hypercar, we have carefully assessed the situation to understand our options for the rest of the weekend,” said Jota team principal Dieter Gass.
“The most important thing is that Callum is unharmed and we are very grateful for the quick assistance of the race stewards and the medical team. Unfortunately the bodyshell has suffered damage and needs to be replaced.”
“This is now our number one priority and the team is working incredibly hard to fine-tune the car. In parallel we are in constant communication with the ACO and FIA to ensure we meet all regulatory obligations before we can communicate our next moves”.
It seems likely that the team will miss the Hyperpole, which starts at 8pm on Thursday and will feature the eight fastest cars in each of the three classes.
Ilott’s #12 Jota was initially left out of the Hyperpole after setting ninth fastest in Q1, but was elevated after the #7 Toyota GR010 HYBRID was sidelined by a red flag caused by Kamui Kobayashi.
This means Ilott and teammates Will Stevens and Norman Nato will likely start from eighth on the grid, while the #38 Porsche Jota shared by Jenson Button, Phil Hanson and Oliver Rasmussen will line up in 17th place.
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