We have sad news from Le Mans for Corvette fans. Corvette Racing’s No.63 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R has been withdrawn from this weekend’s 83rd 24 Hours of Le Mans following a violent accident that took place during Thursday’s first qualifying session.
According to Corvette Racing, a mechanical issue resulted in driver Jan Magnussen losing control of the car in the Porsche Curves, damaging the front and rear of the Corvette C7.R “beyond immediate repair.” The team said the No. 63 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R is not repairable on-site, marking the first withdrawal of a Corvette Racing entry at Le Mans.
The violence of the impact also took its toll on Magnussen, who was shaken and had to be helped to get out of the car by the ACO medical crews. The driver was sent to the track’s medical center for the standard series of checks and was fortunately given the all-clear by the ACO medical staff.
“We are thankful that Jan has been checked and released by the ACO medical staff. We are disappointed that the No. 63 Corvette C7.R will be unable to compete at Le Mans this year. The Corvette Racing team put a lot of work into preparing two C7.Rs for this event, and unfortunately only one will be in the race,” said Mark Kent, Director of Chevrolet Racing.
No information was offered about the mechanical issue that caused the crash, but as you can see from the videos that captured the moment, something appears to have disabled the car’s steering. Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia and Ryan Briscoe, the drivers who were supposed to race in the No. 63 Corvette C7.R, are probably the saddest people in Le Mans right now.