*update
6:12 – Joerg has left pit lane, but radios in that the steering wheel is off to the right. He will continue and let us know if there are any other issues. 1 hour and 20 minutes since Seth went into the gravel. The crew replaced nearly every bodywork component, two radiators, and rear suspension parts.
6:09 pm – The car has been restarted in the garage. The crew is working on the setup right now and confirming that the repairs have all been done correctly. Joerg Bergmeister is in the car. They will push him out into the pit stall and they will do some more checks, then send him on his way.
5:37 pm CET –- Approximately 2 hours into the 24 Heures du Mans, the No. 76 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche (driven by Patrick Long) made contact with the No. 80 Flying Lizard Porsche on course and both cars flew off the course deep into the gravel. The collision drove the No. 80 Porsche into the guardrail. There was significant damage to the car including severe bodywork damage on all sides, a broken rear wheel, two broken radiators, and right rear suspension damage. Driver Seth Neiman was able to drive the car back to the pits, where the crew is currently working on repairs. The No. 80 had been in the lead in GT2 for most of the race, with Joerg Bergmeister driving the first stint, and Johannes van Overbeek the second. We do not have an estimated time yet for return to the track; the car has been off track for 50 minutes so far.
5:04 pm – The car is in the garage. Bodywork is being replaced on front, back and both sides – the right side when the No. 76 hit him, the driver side was damaged when he hit the barrier. Front bumper, right front and rear fenders, right door, undertray, rear wing. Unclear yet if they’ll have to replace the radiators or any suspension parts. I’ll report more once the repairs are complete, but it looks like repairs will be substanial and lengthy.
* Seth has made it back to the pits and the car is in the garage. They are on TV right now and right rear is smashed.
Incident with two Porsches! Damn! Long in the #76 sided the #80 Lizard, both off into wall. Not sure if another car is at fault or Patrick Long or Seth.
5:01 pm – Once seth is in pit stall, they will fuel and then bring him backinto the garage.
4:57 – Seth got out of the car to look and reports that the right rear wheel is broken. He thinks if he can get out of the gravel, he can bring the car back, even with a broken wheel. He is back on the track and is going slowly back. Both rear tires and wheels appear to be broken and there is a lot of tire smoke.
4:52 – Seth is in the gravel after being hit although it’s unclear what happened. He reports damage in the left front – stuck in the gravel. Water pressure is zero so this means radiator damage. They need to pull him out ofthe gravel but cannot get him into reverse. We can now see it on the TV and you can see damage on front left. Assuming that he can get the car restarted the issue will be if he can make it back in. It appears that the No. 76 hit us.
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