Defending Le Mans Series LMP2 champion team RML has withdrawn from this weekend's Spa 1000Km in the wake of the accident that briefly hospitalized driver Mike Newton.
Team manager Phil Barker explained that the monocoque of the squad's HPD ARX-01d had been damaged in the impact with the tire barrier at the Fagnes right-hander.
The accident happened during the closing minutes of the second free practice session on Friday when Newton and the factory Peugeot 908 HDi driven by Pedro Lamy collided before the braking zone.
"It was a pretty hefty shunt and the chassis has taken a lot damage," Barker said. "We need to get it back to the factory to see how bad it is. It is borderline whether we can use it again."
Barker described the clash as a "racing accident," though he stressed that the "onus is on the overtaking driver to make a clean pass."
Newton, won who last year's LMP2 drivers' crown with Tommy Erdos, was due to race the car with the Brazilian and Ben Collins at Spa. Newton was released from the hospital in Verviers late on Friday night.