Krohn ruled out of Le Mans on medical grounds

Tracy Krohn will miss this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans on medical advice following his hefty practice crash at the Circuit de la Sarthe on Wednesday.

Driving the #99 Porsche 911 RSR entered to the race by Dempsey-Proton Racing, Krohn crashed into the barrier on the run down to the second chicane, causing significant damage to the car.

Krohn was taken to hospital after the crash and was kept in overnight before being discharged this morning while the team built up a spare chassis.

It remained unclear ahead of Qualifying 2 at Le Mans on Thursday evening whether Krohn would be racing, but a statement issued confirmed the American would be missing the race.

"Krohn Racing is pleased to announce that its principal and driver Tracy W. Krohn has been released from the hospital in Le Mans, France, after a high impact incident on the circuit and was released to return to racing," the statement reads.

"The FIA, according to its protocol, has mandated that Mr. Krohn refrain from racing in FIA events for a period of at least one week until such time as the mandatory protocol has been completed.

"Mr. Krohn will respect the protocol and will therefore not compete in this year’s 87th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race."

As a result, the #99 Porsche has been withdrawn from the race by Dempsey-Proton Racing, reducing the field to 61 cars for the start on Saturday.

 

 

 

 

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Krohn Racing is pleased to announce that its principal and driver Tracy W. Krohn has been released from the hospital in Le Mans, France, after a high impact incident on the circuit and was released to return to racing. The FIA, according to its protocol, has mandated that Mr. Krohn refrain from racing in FIA events for a period of at least 1 week until such time as the mandatory protocol has been completed. Mr. Krohn will respect the protocol and will therefore not compete in this year’s 87th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race. “While it is a major disappointment for the Dempsey Proton Competition team, headed up by Christian Reid, on behalf of myself, and my regular co-driver, Nic Jonsson, we want to thank all of the team members for their valiant efforts. Many thanks to Patrick Long for making a super effort to be here with us for this race as he had to jump through a lot of hoops to even get to Scrutineering last Monday for the 24 Hours of Le Mans event, (to be held June 15-16, 2019) after his victory in GTD class at Sonoma l, California in the U.S. on Sunday. As well as making a special effort to get to Le Mans for the mandatory test day at LeMans on June 3, following a race in Detroit, Michigan on June 2. I respect the FIA decision as a safety precaution and look forward to competing again next year in this incredible and historic race. I wish to thank the medical professionals at the circuit and at the Hospital du Mans for the prompt and professional manner in which I was cared for, and of course, my wife, Laurie for her kind and loving support. This “temporary halt in driving protocol” is based on a generalization of high impact accidents that have occurred to other drivers in the past. The Porsche GTE SportsCar I was driving sustained significant damage but did its protective job and I am unharmed!! A great deal of engineering with regard to impact design, & thought with regard to the ergonomics of this spectacular racecar (yes, I believe racecar should only be oneword forwards and backwards) have once again proven to be the result of Porsche design & engineering. This is a really spectacular racecar I have been very privileged to have driven”

A post shared by Krohn Racing (@krohnracing) on Jun 13, 2019 at 10:49am PDT