The #64 Chevrolet Corvette has lost the lead of the GT2 class after being hit by Anthony Davidson in the #1 Peugeot.
Davidson was running two laps off the outright lead in third place, lapping five seconds quicker than the leading Audis as he tried desperately to claw the only remaining factory 908 back into contention for victory.
The Briton caught the #64 car, being driven by Emmanuel Collard, and tried to dive down the inside in the Porsche Curves. But he made contact and pitched the Corvette into a spin into the barrier.
Davidson made it back to the pits for swift repairs to his car and, while it took Collard longer to get the Chevrolet going again, he made it back to the garage with heavy rear-end damage.
The Corvette had been more than one lap clear of the #77 Felbermayr Porsche at the head of GT2, with the Chevrolet team having recently lost the #63 sister car to an engine failure.
The safety cars were scrambled while the debris from the crash was cleared. Davidson is back on track and still two laps off the lead in third place, while the Corvette is still in the pits and will soon lose its second place in GT2 to the AF Corse Ferrari, which has Jean Alesi on board.