Obituary! Tragedy strikes at Le Mans as Danish driver dies in high-speed crash during 24-hour race

Allan Simonsen has died after crashing today at the Le Mans 24 Hours motor race in France.

The Dane was immediately treated by doctors and the race's medical team when he lost control of his Aston Martin and smashed into the safety barriers just 10 minutes into the race.

The 34-year-old, who was racing in his seventh race, was taken to the Circuit Medical Centre 'in a serious condition' but died from his injuries.



Race organisers Automobile Club de l'Ouest said in a statement: '[We wish] to express its great sadness following this incident, and extends its deepest condolences to the family and those close to Allan Simonsen.

'The Automobile Club de l'Ouest will make no further statement while the exact reasons for the accident are still being wholly determined.' 

Some of the biggest names in motorsport paid tribute to the driver today.

Simonsen's teammate, Scottish driver Jamie Campbell-Walter said his family want the team to carry on in the race.

He wrote: 'Allan Simonsen tragically lost his life today, a great teammate & a great guy.

'His family have asked us to continue and try to win!'





Simonsen crashed heavily while racing at the Tertre Rouge bend, the highest point of the world famous race. He hit the wall at high-speed before spinning away.

His family were immediately told of the crash by David Richards, the principal of the Aston Martin Racing team.

Simonsen was an experienced Le Mans campaigner and was racing for the seventh time at La Sarthe. 

Only two days earlier Simonsen, along with Danish team-mates Christoffer Nygaard and Kristian Poulsen, were celebrating after the number 95 Aston claimed pole position in the GTE Am class.

Simonsen was the Danish Formula Ford champion in 1999 and went on to race in Formula Palmer Audi and the British Formula Renault Championship before carving out a career in sports cars.


The 24 Hours of Le Mans race is the oldest endurance motor race in the world.  It has been held annually since 1923 and teams must continue to compete for 24 hours, swapping drivers about every two hours.

The most recent fatality connected with the race was Frenchman Sebastien Enjolras, killed during pre-qualifying in 1997, but the last to die during the race was Austrian Jo Gartner in 1986.

Le Mans is the scene of motor racing's deadliest accident when at least 80 people died and scores more were injured in a 1955 disaster, ranks with Indianapolis and Monaco as one of the sport's great events.