Audi R18 Crash At Le Mans: No. 1 Driver Loic Duval Conscious, Suffered Wounds To Neck And Leg [VIDEO, REPORT]

Audi R18 driver Loic Duval was involved in an extremely high speed crash during a Wednesday practice session ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Officials report that Duval is conscious and his condition is optimistic. Audi Sport boss Wolfgang Ullrich also confirmed that Duval is awake and alert. According to a tweet from EnduranceWorld UK, Duval suffered a cut to the neck, likely from the harness belt, and a large wound to the leg.

"At 17h05, today, Wednesday 11 June, the No. 1 Audi left the track at a very high rate of speed at the Porsche Curves, at Marshals Post No.131," stated the official Le Mans press release. "The incident occurred during free practice for the 82nd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

"Conscious, the driver was taken into the care of ACO's Medical Services, extracted from the car to an ambulance and then immediately transported to the Le Mans Centre Hospitalier where he will undergo further evaluation. His condition is encouraging."

While the cause of the terrifying Audi R18 accident is unknown, the heavy impact prompted a red flag to end the session as track officials must remove the wreckage from the track and also repair the debris fencing and the mangled barrier.

The No. 1 chassis is driven by Loic Duval and co-drivers Tom Kristensen and Lucas Di Grassi. According to sources, the No. 1 Audi R18 did its job to protect Duval but its structure is completely damaged beyond recognition. Audi is currently in the process of building another machine from spares. Le Mans will not penalize Audi for entering that car in No. 1's place.