Corvette withdraws No. 63 entry from Le Mans after crash
Following Jan Magnussen's accident at the exit of the Porsche Curves in Thursday's second qualifying session, the No. 63 Corvette C7.R has been withdrawn from Saturday's 24 Hours of Le Mans, the team confirmed late Thursday night.
The team confirmed a mechanical issue resulted in Magnussen losing control of the car in the Porsche Curves, damaging the front and rear of the Corvette C7.R beyond immediate repair.
The damage to the right front and right side of the car was too sustainable to be repaired prior to the race, thus marking the first withdrawal of a Corvette Racing entry at Le Mans.
As the team did not have a spare chassis available on site, the team has had no choice but to withdraw the car.
"We are thankful that Jan has been checked and released by the ACO medical staff," said Mark Kent, Director of Chevrolet Racing.
"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 two C7.Rs for this event, and unfortunately only one will be in the race."
It ends the hopes for Magnussen, Antonio Garcia and Ryan Briscoe of trying to win their third consecutive race as teammates this year, after also winning the Rolex 24 at Daytona and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring to kick off the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship season.
Magnussen was released from the medical center following the accident and debriefed with the team, but no further updates were issued.
All of Corvette's efforts will now shift to the No. 64 Corvette C7.R, which will start eighth in the GTE-Pro class in the hands of Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Jordan Taylor.