After the arrival of the race last weekend, French driver Olivier Panis said he had just contested his last 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Panis, who raced in Formula 1 from 1994 to 2006 and drove an ORECA-entered, private Peugeot 908 HDI FAP last weekend alongside Nicolas Lapierre and Loic Duval. The team finished the 24 hour race in fifth place overall.
The French driver indicated that he would continue to race in the Andros Trophy ice racing series and the GT racing, but he would no longer take part in the Le Mans race.
“The two big crashed that happened this year really disturbed me,” Panis said to French magazine L’Equipe.
“They deeply influenced my decision. This race has become very dangerous. What happened to Rockenfeller is not acceptable. Some drivers do only one race a year – Le Mans – and without being too harsh, there’s too much difference in talent and experience between them and us, professional drivers,” Panis said.
Panis, who raced in Formula 1 from 1994 to 2006 and drove an ORECA-entered, private Peugeot 908 HDI FAP last weekend alongside Nicolas Lapierre and Loic Duval. The team finished the 24 hour race in fifth place overall.
The French driver indicated that he would continue to race in the Andros Trophy ice racing series and the GT racing, but he would no longer take part in the Le Mans race.
“The two big crashed that happened this year really disturbed me,” Panis said to French magazine L’Equipe.
“They deeply influenced my decision. This race has become very dangerous. What happened to Rockenfeller is not acceptable. Some drivers do only one race a year – Le Mans – and without being too harsh, there’s too much difference in talent and experience between them and us, professional drivers,” Panis said.