The Audi Le Mans team had a terrifying moment yesterday after their No. 1 R-18 e-tron quattro car was obliterated after it slammed into a wall during practice. Thankfully, and in what can be seen as a testament to the safety of modern race cars, driver Loic Duval was unharmed.
After we learned Duval was alright, the question on every Le Mans watcher's mind was this: What's going to happen to the car? Will they bring in a spare chassis and use that instead, or just run two prototypes instead of three?
Neither. Instead, the Audi team worked overnight to rebuild the car. And as of this morning, they're nearly finished. The transformation from yesterday's wrecked pile to race car is nothing short of incredible.
UPDATE: Despite the misleading tweet above, it sounds like they brought in a new tub and built a new car from all the parts they had on hand.
Unfortunately, Duval won't be racing this weekend. Reuters reports that while he suffered only some scratches in the crash, doctors have disqualified him as a precautionary measure. Driver Marc Gene will replace him in the rebuilt No. 1 car.