Jan Magnussen's accident during final qualifying for the Le Mans 24 Hours on Thursday, which led to the withdrawal of the #63 GTE Pro Chevrolet Corvette, was caused by a stuck throttle.

( C7.Rs do NOT use drive by wire as street Corvettes do :-(

The Dane hit the wall on the right-hand-side of the track in the middle of the Porsche Curves, rebounding across the track and suffering a second impact with the concrete wall on the left side, resulting in damage that could not be repaired at the track. Magnussen had been set to start his 17th Le Mans 24 Hours.

The Corvette Racing team has discovered the throttle was stuck open as a result of debris caught in the throttle-return linkage.


This is the system that leads to the throttle closing when the driver comes off the pedal, meaning Magnussen was unable to slow for the second part of the double left-hander in the middle of Porsche Curves.

Although the 41-year-old attempted to slow the car with what little space he had, applying around 1400 PSI of pressure to the brake pedal, the stuck throttle meant he had no chance to avoid the accident.

The withdrawal of one of only two works Corvettes, which Magnussen shared with Antonio Garcia and Ryan Briscoe, reduces the GTE Pro field to eight cars.

The sister #64 car of Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Jordan Taylor will start seventh in class.