The JRM entered HPD LMP1 car started the Spa Six Hours from the pitlane after Karun Chandhok crashed the car on the reconnaissance lap heading to the grid in wet conditions.
The Indian driver lost control of the car at the top of Eau Rouge after struggling to maintain tire temperature with the Michelins and spun into the barriers, damaging the right side of the car at the front and the rear. The team made the start just in time, having replaced parts of the right rear suspension and the front bodywork.
"We were struggling big time with tire temperature in the wet, and we'd only ever run the car in the wet in the warm-up this morning," said Chandhok. "The first two reconnaissance laps I did the car felt OK, but I just kept losing more and more grip. Through the right-left, as you go over the crest the rear goes light, I think the tire temperature got so low it just spun around.
"The irritating thing is that it was the lightest tap with the barriers on the front right, but that brought the rear around and that did more damage."
The Lotus-powered Kodewa Lola also started from the pits after an engine change in the morning. It had been a contender for LMP2 pole with James Rossiter at the wheel and had qualified 12th overall.