The organization of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the endurance race par excellence in motorsports, has decided to prohibit the participation of one of the registered drivers for not meeting the required level to compete in the test safely. This is the 62-year-old Frenchman Phillipe Cimadomo, who was going to compete with an Oreca 07 Gibson within the LMP2 TDS Racing team.

«He had an accident in Free Practice 1 and almost caused another at the entrance to the pits in the same session. In addition, he lost control of the car in FP3, suffering a significant accident, "explains the organization's statement announcing the driver's exclusion. "The decision is that the driver does not have the level required to participate safely in the remainder of the competition, especially considering the specificities of the Le Mans circuit and the competition."

Cimadomo explained to the stewards that he has competed with such prototypes without incident during the European Le Mans Series, and that what happened at Le Mans represents "momentary lapses". However, his explanations were not convincing, and both the stewards and the Race Direction advised his exclusion "for his own safety and that of the rest of the riders".

"He is a very good driver, but he must continue working," Pierre Fillon, president of ACO, organizer of the race, told the AFP agency. «There is no age limit to race at Le Mans, but obviously you have to be in a physical condition compatible with the race. It is an extremely demanding and difficult test”, he added.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans race will start this Saturday at 3:00 p.m., without the presence of Cimadomo, who has been replaced in his team by the Dutchman Nick De Vries, champion among other Formula 2 and Formula E championships .

Miguel Molina and Antonio García, both in the GTE Pro category, are the only two Spanish drivers present in the competition.