Practice for this weekend’s World Endurance Championship round at the Autodromo do Algarve has resumed after a car landed in a grandstand during a support event.
Porsche Sprint Challenge Iberica driver Alex Areia suffered a huge crash at turn one on the Portuguese track. A video shot by a spectator at the circuit showed the car leaving the circuit at high speed and clearing the barrier.
Images of the crash scene show the Porsche 911 GT3 took out several panels of the debris fence and landed in a seated area of the grandstand. The area of the grandstand appears to have been empty at the time and the Monteiros Competicoes driver is reported to be unhurt.
The incident happened during second practice for the support series, which followed the day’s opening WEC session. The second WEC practice session began on schedule following repairs to the damaged barriers.
The Porsche Sprint Challenge Iberica is a new series which was launched by Spain’s Real Federación Española de Automovilismo for 2023. It is holding the first round of its new championship this weekend.
The circuit Algarve near Portimao opened in 2008 and underwent some renovations and resurfacing in 2020. There are two different configurations available for turn one. WEC uses the faster of the two, as F1 did when it held the Portuguese Grand Prix at the venue in 2020 and 2021.
Toyota filled the top two places in the first WEC practice session of the day. The number eight car shared by Sebastien Buemi,Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa set the pace.
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Image: Petete3mil via Twitter
World Endurance Championship
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