24 Heures du Mans | 19:11:00
I can hardly believe me eyes! The № 3 R18 Ultra, running in fourth place, crashed on the first of the two Mulsanne chicanes. The hard-to-believe bit was not the shunt, but that driver Romain Dumas, after jumping out of the cockpit & pulling away much of the damaged bodywork, was able to jump back in & limp his Le Mans Prototype over four miles around the Circuit de la Sarthe back to the pit lane. I have never seen such a heavily-mangled racecar continue, however slowly, under its own power. The right front tire was wobbling as if it would fall off at any moment, & yet somehow held on as Dumas gingerly made his way around the course. The Audi Team Joest mechanics are now frantically but methodically stripping the stricken R18 Ultra, making every effort to return their car to the race. Wow!