Dries Vanthoor is convinced that the accident he had with Robert Kubica at the 24 Hours of Le Mans was intentionally caused by his rival.
The atmosphere between the Belgian and the Pole seems very heavy and the BMW M Team WRT driver spoke for the first time about the crash that occurred at 300km/h, heavily criticizing the behavior of the AF Corse standard bearer, who according to him was guilty of having kicked off the track without even apologizing or worrying about his state of health.
“Personally, I think he did it on purpose. He didn’t care about me after the incident. His behavior towards me was disrespectful and lacking in humanity. To me, this shows that he did it on purpose,” he said on the Over the Limit podcast.
“I had a mild concussion and a bruise on my left foot. He didn’t bother to text me or ask how I was. When you have an accident with someone and you find out they had to go to the medical center, you have to show a little respect.”
“Maybe he was angry with me and thought it was my fault, which it wasn’t anyway, but you have to show some respect. I’m quite disappointed about that.”
#15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Dries Vanthoor, Raffaele Marciello, Marco Wittmann
Photo by: Shameem Fahath
Criticized for blue flags: it had two free sectors
But it didn’t end here. Vanthoor was violently abused and verbally attacked by numerous Kubica fans on social media. Attention focuses on the fact that he would have cut two chicanes before the accident and would not have respected the blue flags for half a lap.
The Belgian justifies himself: “I had just changed tires and left the pit lane on slicks. I was told that it was important to keep the car coming behind me. Because it was the lead lap.”
Vanthoor thus explains the dilemma of the new safety car procedure. In the past, this wouldn’t have been a problem because there were three of them on the track. With the procedure in force from 2023, it is now important not to be lapped.
If you stay in front, there is the possibility of rejoining the rear of the SC group, but if lapped you find yourself with a huge gap from all the cars in front of you. Kubica would have switched to slick tires sooner or later, and Vanthoor would probably have become competitive again as soon as the tires got up to temperature. The only danger for the BMW driver was an intervention of the safety car as long as Kubica was in front.
Initially the BMW #15 had ended up spinning with Marco Wittmann due to a wrong tire choice when the first rain shower arrived.
“I slipped on the cold slicks at the first corner and then found it behind me. Many accuse me of having ignored the blue flag, but I also watched the replay and in a battle like this you don’t notice them.”
“And even if I had noticed it, I wouldn’t have given it space, because in the WEC you have two sectors to let someone pass. The regulations say it clearly. We ran side by side towards the first chicane. There was no traffic. He braked quite early and I braked later, but I was still in front at the exit, even with the cold tyres. It was still difficult.”
#15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Dries Vanthoor, Raffaele Marciello, Marco Wittmann
Photo credit: Rainier Ehrhardt
Onboard footage of the M Hybrid V8 shows the wheels spinning when accelerating out of the ‘Daytona’ chicane, while Kubica had more grip on the wet tires as he gained ground.
However, Vanthoor keeps him behind by moving to the side without trailing him, with the #83 Ferrari finding himself in front of a Ford Mustang.
“There was a Ford right in front of us. I said to myself, ‘Damn, I have to pass that Ford! Because then I would have some clean air and there would be no more blue flags. I braked in the usual place, but Unfortunately I was on the inside with cold tires on the damp part of the track. That’s why I wasn’t able to take the corner. I went to the right, where you have to go if you miss the chicane.”
From there Vanthoor resumed accelerating for the third part of the Hunaudieres straight, where Kubica this time found himself in Manthey’s Porsche.
“But it didn’t work because he had so much acceleration that I had to give him space so as not to make everything too dangerous,” says Dries, explaining the decision to leave room for Kubica in the middle of the straight.
Both hypercars overtook the 911 GT3 R, but there Kubica suddenly swerved to the right: “Unfortunately, it made the situation even more dangerous and pushed me off the track. That’s how it happened.”
#15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Dries Vanthoor, Raffaele Marciello, Marco Wittmann
Photo credit: Rainier Ehrhardt
Social media attacks
Vanthoor suffered a mild concussion and a minor foot injury, but is generally in good health. However, he had to endure the comments of Kubica’s fans, penalizing him 30 seconds for his gesture, which many considered too little.
“Social media is a problem in that respect, it can be a very dark place. It’s very easy to write something. But you can’t change the situation. Sometimes people should maintain a certain level of respect.”
“I received a lot of hatred from Kubica’s fans. They don’t see it like us. They don’t know the radio dialogues and everything else.”
Neither of the two cars involved saw the checkered flag. The BMW left immediately, while the yellow Ferrari 499P retired in the early hours of the morning due to an electrical fault.
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