Philippe Cimadomo replaced by Nyck de Vries 'for safety of himself and other competitors' at 24 Hours of Le Mans
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Updated 10/06/2022 at 16:41 GMT
Nyck de Vries has replaced Philippe Cimadomo at TDS Racing at the Circuit de la Sarthe this week in preparation for the race this weekend. 24 hours of Le Mans will welcome the Formula-E champion and reserve Mercedes driver onto the track as he prepares for the most iconic automobile endurance race on the planet. You can stream 24 hours of Le Mans exclusively on Discovery+.
Watch footage as Cimadomo crashes in free practice at 24 Hours of Le Mans
Philippe Cimadomo has been replaced by Nyck de Vries at 24 hours of Le Mans due to multiple safety concerns.
TDS Racing has taken the decision following the dangerous actions of Cimadomo by creating multiple crashes, including a heavy collision in free practice 3 on Thursday.
Formula-E world champion De Vries will now make up TDS Racing’s line-up in the LMP2 class for the rest of the week as preparation for the race at the Circuit de la Sarthe continues.
The decision was made ultimately by the stewards of Le Mans after noting the accidents he had caused throughout the sessions so far.
They said that Cimadomo was a concern “for the safety of himself and other competitors”.
TDS have also confirmed the change in their line-up after announcing that: “After the strong accident yesterday, Philippe Cimadomo will not take part in the coming race, nevertheless all the parties agreed to maintain their participation to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.”
There was some doubt over whether the participation and performance of TDS Racing would be compromised following the removal of the 62-year-old Frenchman.
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De Vries will now drive alongside fellow TDS Racing drivers Tijmen Van der Helm and Mathias Beche to make up the rest of the team.
The current Formula E champion was already at the Circuit de la Sarthe this week, as he was due to be the reserve driver for Toyota Gazoo Racing.
De Vries will be used to the French squad from his time with Racing Team Nederland’s LMP2 effort, which was operated by TDS also.
The Dutchman does have some experience in endurance racing before, as he drove for G-Drive Racing in last year’s edition of the classic race.
However, this change in the line-up for TDS Racing will now mean that they have to change class that they compete for the race this weekend.
This is due to De Vries holding a platinum driver ranking, but a Pro-Am team at Le Mans is required to only run a driver that has bronze driver ranking as part of its team.
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As well as competing currently in the Formula E season for the Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team, De Vries is also the reserve driver for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 team.
Many believe within Formula 1, that De Vries will be taking up a seat at one of the teams by the time next season begins.
The most likely destination for De Vries could be at Williams, who are looking to partner Alex Albon with a more competitive driver than their current driver Nicholas Latifi.
When does the actual race start?
There is a warm-up on Saturday followed by the race, as follows:
Saturday, June 11
- 9:30 to 9:45 – Warm-up
- 15:00 – The race (on-air coverage starts at 14:00)
Sunday, June 12
- 15:00 – Finish
How can I watch 24 hours of Le Mans?
You can watch the 24 Hours of Le Mans across Eurosport, the Eurosport app and discovery+.
Enjoy the action ad-free on the Eurosport app and via eurosport.co.uk. Download the Eurosport app now for iOS and Android. You can sign up for discovery+ for just £6.99 per month or £59.99 annually.
We will also have rolling coverage on the Eurosport.co.uk website and our social channels.
Live coverage of the main race starts at 2pm BST on Saturday, June 11.
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