Red flag at the 6h of Spa-Francorchamps when less than two hours remain on the clock until the end of this third round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship.
With the two Ferraris having just taken the lead and the fourth round of stops that some of the Hypercar Class were inaugurating, a very bad accident involved the Cadillac and the BMW LMGT3 #31.
Earl Bamber, fourth at the time in the #2 V-Series.R, was chasing the #99 Proton Competition Porsche driven by Neel Jani, which at the top of the ‘Raidillon’ found itself ahead of the M4 driven by Sean Gelael.
The Swiss went alongside it on the ‘Kemmel’ straight, taking the left side, Bamber followed in the wake of the 963 and tried to slip in on the right, but miscalculating the timing ended up crossing the road to Gelael’s M4.
The collision sent the Cadillac violently into the right-hand barriers, even risking a rollover and slightly touching the rear of the Porsche, scattering debris for several meters and ending the race demolished, with the BMW M4 also stopped due to the KO.
The Safety Car intervened immediately, but after a minute it was clear that the race had to be stopped to allow the drivers – declared ok, but now at the medical center for routine checks – to be rescued and to clean up the track.
In the meantime, the clock continues and all the cars lined up on the main starting straight waiting for the new start, while the Race Director, Eduardo Freitas, went to the site to check the state of the protective barriers, in a point where there they are just nets and concrete New Jerseys.
“It could have gone much worse, frankly there’s little to say. The two in front of me were fighting and I think an error of judgment was made”, explains Gelael to Eurosport with a very pinched face.
“Sometimes these mistakes happen and have very big consequences, the important thing is that no one got hurt. But respect is also needed for the other riders on the track, even if they race in other categories. Some do it, some don’t, today Unfortunately I found myself in the wrong position.”
The repairs of the barriers after the accident
Photo by: Paul Foster
UPDATE: at the end of the very long repairs, the Race Direction will restart the race with 1h44′ to go, i.e. the time lost from the display of the red flag. The Safety Car will be in front of the group starting from 7.10pm.
The cars on the grid will be able to change their tyres, but anyone who has not made the pit stop with refueling will be forced to return. From this point of view, those who have already completed the operation are Porsche #6 and #12 and Alpine #36.
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