On-Track Repair Drama at the 24 Heures du Mans

Flying Lizard No. 80 On-Track Repair Drama at the 24 Heures du Mans

June 18, 2006, 2:00 am--Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France--At approximately 1:00 am, 8 hours into the 24 Heures du Mans, the Flying Lizard Porsche No. 80 went off track into the gravel just past the Dunlop bridge. At the time of the incident, driver Seth Neiman was seventh in GT2. After being removed from the track by marshals, driver Seth Neiman was unable to restart the car.

Race regulations state that a car must return to the garage under its own power in order to continue in the race. A driver may work on the car on the track. Over the next 45 minutes, the crew worked with Seth via radio to diagnose the problem and repair the car on track. They believe the car was damaged when the car hit the gravel, and as a result, the car would not start. They talked Seth through the process of finding the source of the problem, which turned out to be a broken electrical connection at the starter.

Seth returned to the garage under his own power, the crew brought the car into the garage, topped off fuel, and went to work to clean the car and complete repairs. The crew also discovered additional damage associated with the incident and repaired it.

The crew sent the car out on track at 2:36 am, approximately an hour and a half after the incident, with Seth Neiman at the wheel to finish his stint.