JOTA Cadillacs Collide While Running 1-2 in Qatar

Image: WEC

The two Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA entries collided while running first and second in the third hour of the FIA World Endurance Championship season opener in Qatar.

A virtual safety car was called when Christian Ried spun off in his Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG, which handed the two Cadillac V-Series.Rs the advantage as the race-leading factory Ferraris had just made green-flag pit stops.

When the order shook out, Jenson Button was in the lead in the No. 38 Cadillac that he took over from Earl Bamber, while Alex Lynn found himself second in the sister No. 12 machine that had been started by Will Stevens.

But just as the race was about to restart, Lynn locked his brakes and ran into the back of Button at the Turn 15 left-hander towards the end of the lap.

Lynn was quick to hold Button responsible for the incident, telling his crew over team radio: “JB [Button] absolutely brake-checked me!”

Both Cadillacs were immediately forced into the pits to repair the damage, while another safety car period was immediately called to clear the debris.

The incident promoted Ferrari into a 1-2-3 position, with the No. 51 499P of pole-winner Antonio Giovinazzi leading the sister factory car of Antonio Fuoco and the third-string No. 83 AF Corse entry of Yifei Ye.

Best of the rest was Robin Frijns in the No. 15 BMW M Hybrid V8, followed by Charles Milesi in the No. 36 Alpine A424.

The two Cadillacs dropped back to 12th and 16th places respectively, with both Lynn and Button placed under investigation for the incident.

Finn Gehrsitz led the way in LMGT3 aboard the No. 78 Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F GT3 when the race resumed with two hours, 37 minutes elapsed.