Top Qualifying Delayed After Vanthoor Crash

The Top Qualifying session for the 53rd Nürburgring 24 has been red-flagged and pushed back to later on Friday after a significant crash for Scherer Sport PHX driver Laurens Vanthoor at Schwedenkreuz.

The No. 16 Porsche 911 GT3 went off at the high-speed left hander, spun across the curb and made heavy impact with the guardrail before coming to a rest in the gravel trap.

Although the car suffered major damage in the crash, the Belgian walked away from the site of the accident under his own power.

A Porsche spokesperson has since confirmed that Vanthoor has been checked at the on-site medical center, stating that the Belgian is “OK so far.”

After the crash, an initial Code 60 was quickly upgraded to a full red flag, with the session not immediately restarted.

Race control communicated that Top Qualifying will be restarted at 4 p.m. CEST (10 a.m. EST), with the session to consist of one installation lap and one timed lap.

The delay comes as a result of barrier repairs required after Vanthoor’s crash, which an ADAC Nordrhein spokesperson said will require an estimated 90 minutes to be completed.

That pushes the session back on the timetable behind the Cup and Tourenwagen Trophy support race.

Meanwhile, the third and final full field qualifying session, which was scheduled to begin at 4:15 p.m. CEST (10:15 a.m. EST), is likely to begin immediately after Top Qualifying and looks set to be shortened.