Factory Porsches Involved in Multi-Car Accident in Hour 12

Image: IMSA

Both of the GT Le Mans class contending factory Porsche North America entries have been involved in a multi-car accident just prior to the halfway mark of the 53rd Rolex 24 at Daytona.

The No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR of Marc Lieb and the Christoffer Nygaard-driven No. 007 TRG-AMR Aston Martin V12 Vantage collided, which also later collected the sister No. 912 Porsche driven by Earl Bamber.

While Bamber’s Porsche limped back to the pits with heavy right-front damage, Lieb’s severely wounded works entry stopped on track, which brought out a full course caution.

“The 007 and the 911 came together over the curbs and I had nowhere to go and I moved onto the grass,” Bamber told IMSA Radio. “I hit the 911 unfortunately. It’s a big shame for the team but I think we can get it going again.”

Both cars are expected to be repaired but will lose significant ground on class leaders.

The incident comes as a bitter blow to the Porsche squad, which had both of its 911 RSRs within the top-four for much of the race.

Porsche’s privateer 911 RSR, run by Team Falken Tire, now leads in the GTLM class in the hands of Patrick Long.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John