Stuart Hall ended up in hospital after the third of the four qualifying sessions for the 77th running of the iconic Le Mans 24 Hours this weekend, whilst Ricardo Zonta was left cursing drivers who he claimed fail to adequately use their mirrors.
Hall – one of the stars of the race dubbed ‘the hardest in the world' on his La Sarthe debut this time last year – was aboard the #14 Creation-Aim when he lost control at the Esses, with the subsequent impact bringing out the red flags…and leaving the car in rather a sorry state. Team-mate Johnny Mowlem admitted he did not know whether his young countryman would be able to race at the weekend or not.
“He's hurt his neck and his arm and his leg,” the American Le Mans Series and Le Mans Series front-runner told
Crash.net. “He's been taken to hospital for some scans and he's feeling a bit shaky I think.
“It was a very big hit; apparently he lost it going over the brow of the hill at the Esses and thought he'd held it, but then ended up going off at Tertre Rouge. I haven't seen the whole accident, but I know from looking at the car that it was a massive hit.
“It's not done the tub – that's the main thing – but it's done a lot of damage. We won't be out until the warm-up, and obviously it begs the question as to whether Stuart will be able to drive or not. We'll see what happens.
“The car is repairable; it's just a case of getting all the bits put together and everything and getting it all sorted out in time, but if anyone can do it, the Creation-Aim boys can do it.”
Peugeot new boy Zonta was also left cursing his ill-fortune after his session similarly came to a premature conclusion when he made contact with the circuit's notoriously unforgiving barriers – a legacy, he stressed, of having been hit by the #24 Terramos Courage-Mugen.
