Le Mans Madness: Watch This Mustang Find the Wall
Mustang loses a wheel at Le Mans and winds up scattering itself across the track during one of the most iconic races in the world.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the most iconic races in the world. No matter what your preferred flavor of motorsport is, you’re undoubtedly familiar with this grueling endurance race in France. Moreover, if you’re a Ford fan, you’re undoubtedly familiar with the blue oval’s history out there. The iconic Ford GT40 beat up on Ferrari in the late 1960s and stands out as one of the greatest stories not just in Ford history, but in racing history. Of course, history books got a new note when Ford won again in 2016 with the “third-gen” Ford GT, too.
Unfortunately, this year didn’t quite have that fairytale-like ending. The FIA World Endurance Championship, the body that governs the 24 Hours of Le Mans, posted a video to its YouTube channel showing one of the Ford Mustang GT3 cars spinning out and slamming into the barrier. As one might imagine, the comments section was quick to find its way to the Mustang crash memes. Happily, though, it seems that the crash was outside of the driver’s control. After all, they don’t just let any ‘ol cars and coffee enthusiast behind the wheel at this legendary circuit.
Mechanical Failure Seems to Have Caused the Crash
According to the Proton Competition website, the team running two Mustangs in the LMGT3 category, an earlier incident eventually led to the crash.
“However, Levorato, Olsen, and Gattuso’s hopes of a strong finish were dashed early on. In the fourth hour of racing, the car was involved in an incident caused by a loose wheel nut, which led to a wheel detachment,” says Proton’s website.
This is extremely unfortunate, considering Gattuso set the sixth-fastest lap time during qualifying. This team has a stacked lineup of incredible drivers and had a great chance at finishing on the podium. Unfortunately, due to circumstances outside their control, their race ended early. Proton’s second Ford Mustang GT3 finished in ninth overall for the LMGT3 class. Hopefully, then, they’re willing to give it another try with the Mustang platform next year. We’ll certainly be watching.
Want to take a closer look at the crash? Check out the video below.
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