LE MANS, France — Danish driver Allan Simonsen died Saturday following a crash at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, race organizers said.
Danish driver Allan Simonsen dies after crashing at 24 Hours of Le Mans race
June 22, 2013 at 5:25PM
The 34-year-old Simonsen was taken to the hospital Saturday after his Aston Martin No. 95 crashed about 10 minutes into the race.
Simonsen spun at high speed and his car skidded into the barrier at the Tertre Rouge corner.
He died at the hospital soon after arrival "due to his injuries," organizers said.
Simonsen was participating for the seventh time at the endurance race.
The safety car came out after the accident and the race was held up for nearly an hour to repair the guard rail.
Simonsen finished second in the GT2 class at Le Mans three years ago. He had the fastest time in qualifying Thursday in the GTE Am class.
Simonsen and Danish co-drivers Kristian Poulsen and Christoffer Nygaard were leading the GTE Am class in the world endurance championship after topping their category at Silverstone in April and finishing second in Spa-Francorchamps last month.
about the writer
In interviews with the Star Tribune, Ryan described life before and after the Russian invasion in the country, where she’s worked to secure the border and help refugees flee war-torn areas.
