Under Le Mans rules only the driver can work on the car outside of the pit area and the car must be able to move under its own power. If the driver can get the vehicle back to the pit box, only then can the crew begin their work. If the car cannot get back under its own power, the entry is out of the race.[/dropcap]
This video shows Nissan DeltaWing driver, Satoshi Motoyama, as he tries to revive the Nissan DeltaWing car after an accident during the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The rule is fair – but certainly interesting and pitiful to watch. Earlier in the race broadcast, Scott Pruett was talking about the rule and said that they would joke about having some extra cash in our drivers suits just in case we could “coax” a course marshal to help us out.
The rule only allows for the driver to walk a certain distance away from the car. If at any point a course marshal feels that the driver is too far, the car is listed as abandoned and out of the race. The video shows the crew by the fence and Motoyama would go back and forth, from car to crew, describing what he sees. The frustration of the crew is very evident as they try to coach the fixes and service needed, without even seeing the car close up.
Nissan DeltaWing – you will be back. Thank you for the innovation. Like it or hate it – at least it was way outside the box.
Here is a video of the actual incident that took out the Nissan DeltaWing.
After a restart and lots of traffic, the Delta Wing driven by Satoshi Motoyama gets hit by Kazuki Nakajima in the Toyota
