James Calado, driver of the No.71 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia from the LMGTE Pro category, will spend a night in hospital for observation following an accident which took place earlier this evening.
Just under 45 minutes into the second official qualifying session, at 19h44, the Ferrari left the track at high speed in the Porsche Curves and made contact with the barriers. The British driver, who shares the cockpit of the No.71 with Davide Rigon in the FIA WEC, and also with Olivier Beretta for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, was taken to the circuit’s medical centre and then taken to the Le Mans Centre Hospitalier for further observation as he was reported to be “confused”. Amato Ferrari, Team Principal of AF Corse confirmed that Calado has no other serious injuries.
Due to the accident the FIA Medical Delegate confirmed that Calado will be unable to compete at the weekend, and the Italian team has received permission from the Stewards of the Meeting to replace him with experienced Ferrari GTE driver, Pierre Kaffer. The German must compete in the No.51 AF Corse entry in the night session in order to be able to start the race.
The team further received permission to replace the damaged No.71 chassis and the car will be prepared overnight and tomorrow ready for the 15h00 start of the 82nd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans on Saturday.
Fiona Miller
Photo: CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES (LE MANS, FRANCE), 2014 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, AUTOGRAPH SESSION, TUESDAY 10 JUNE 2014. James Calado (left) and Davide Rigon.
