Katherine Legge suffers big crash at ELMS test in Le Castellet

The second ELMS day of testing at Le Castellet was halted following a big accident by Richard Mille Racing driver Katherine Legge, who was extricated and airlifted to a local hospital.

Photo credits: PHOTO©JEP - WWW.JAKOBEBREY.COM

The all-female LMP2 squad Richard Mille Racing team made its official debut in the European Le Mans Series yesterday, as Tatiana Calderon, Sophia Floersch and Katherine Legge started the two-days collective test at Circuit Paul Ricard in the South of France.

The team, supported by the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission and with the technical support of race and championship-winning team Signatech, were 13th overall after Tuesday's sessions.

With less than an hour to go in Wednesday's morning session though, the action was red flagged for a big crash occurred to the #50 Oreca driven by Katherine Legge.

The car went off at high speed after Signes corner, one of the fastest sections of the French racetrack, and impacted with the guard rail.

"The circuit safety teams were very quickly and very efficiently on the scene" - reads the series statement on the incident. Legge was extricated and transferred to the circuit medical centre and was conscious throughout.

After local assessment, the experienced British racer was airlifted to the Sainte Anne hospital with a broken bone in her left leg and a broken right wrist.

"Her medical situation is not life threatening" - concludes the official statement.

Causes of the accident are not clear yet and will be investigated by the team.

At this time, the participation of the Richard Mille Racing team in next weekend's ELMS season opener might be under question, as Sophia Floersch will also be unavailable due to her FIA Formula 3 commitments at Hungaroring.

Further updates on Katherine Legge's conditions will follow when available.

We would like to sincerely wish her a full and speedy recovery.