As Motorsport.com reports, a wild sequence of events just tore through the halfway mark of the Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, ending Kevin Magnussen's race in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season finale with a terrifying, violent crash.
Driving the #25 Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8, Magnussen collided heavily into the rear of Alex Palou's #93 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 as they entered Turn 3. Palou was on an out lap, wrestling slick tires on a damp and drying circuit, when the GTP machine made contact. The impact pitched Magnussen's BMW briefly into the air before it slammed hard into the tire barrier.
Thankfully, Magnussen managed to climb out of the wrecked machine under his own power. An IMSA spokesperson confirmed he was evaluated and released from the trackside medical center. Meanwhile, Palou—none other than the five-time IndyCar Series champion—walked away with rear-end damage on his Acura and kept going, staying on track under the seventh full-course caution of the race.
That heavy collision was just the climax of a chaotic five-minute spell for the Meyer Shank Racing outfit. Just moments before, the team's two entries banged wheels while fighting over the overall lead, when Renger van der Zande in the #93 Acura hit teammate Colin Braun in the #60 car. Race officials reviewed the mess and pinned the blame on van der Zande, slapping the #93 crew with a drive-through penalty for incident responsibility.
Out front as the race hit the halfway distance, Ricky Taylor held the lead behind the wheel of Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing's #10 Cadillac V-Series.R.
