GT Aston Martin Exits Le Mans In a Dramatic Rollover Crash

The Heart of Racing entry slid out of control while avoiding a leading prototype. That led to a barrier hit so hard that the car rolled over.

Next year, Heart of Racing will run two Aston Martin Valkyries in the top class of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The American team is running one GT3 car in this year's race, and that race has ended in dramatic fashion.

The crash started as driver Daniel Mancinelli moved his Aston Martin to the still damp outside line of the fast right-hand corner before Indianapolis. Mancinelli created room for a Ferrari hypercar to pass, but he drifted into the wet lane at high speed and started to slide out. He then lost control as the car slid along the wet paint of the nearby runoff area. That led to a hard crash with the barrier inside of Indianapolis itself, a hit that rolled the car onto its roof before coming to a rest.

A full safety car period was called immediately. Mancinelli was able to climb out quickly under his own power, leaving a car that was on the lead lap in GT3 at the time stuck upside down in the inside runoff area of the next corner after the one where his crash started. Heart of Racing's attempt at this year's Le Mans is over.

It was the second hard hit in the same barrier of the past hour. Before the Heart of Racing crash, No. 4 Porsche Penske Motorsports driver Felipe Nasr lost control from the inside line in the same curve. He tried to save the slide, but that correction led his Porsche 963 hard into the inside wall. That ended the race for Porsche's third factory car, but the team's No. 6 entry is still leading and the sister No. 5 car is still in contention further back in the field.