LE MANS // Toyota driver Anthony Davidson is in hospital after breaking two vertebrae following a huge accident during the opening quarter of the 2012 Le Mans 24 hour race yesterday.
The 33-year-old took over from Sebastien Buemi after decent stints from the Swiss driver and Stephane Sarrazin had left the team fighting for the lead.
But early into his stint the Briton was clipped by the LMPGTE Ferrari driven by Italy's Piergiuseppe Perazzini and crashed heavily into the barrier after a spectacular mid-air flip. Perazzini walked away from the accident.
Toyota confirmed he had suffered breaks to his T11 and T12 vertebrae, with Toyota saying: "Those injuries are expected to heal fully in approximately three months and he will remain in hospital until Monday."
Davidson later took to Twitter while in the local hospital recovering from the crash.
"Well that was a big one! Lying in a French hospital with a broken back wasn't what I had in mind at this stage in the race ..." he wrote.
"..Gutted for the @Toyota_Hybrid team who did an amazing job all week."
Sarrazin sent his best wishes to co-driver Davidson and was happy with the overall performance of both cars.
"Firstly I am relieved that Anthony got out of such an accident and I hope he gets better quickly," he said.
"Regarding the race, the car was competitive and after being cautious at the beginning, we were really on the pace. We were in a very good rhythm, with both cars in top three. For a car that has made is first laps only a few months ago, it is amazing to be at this level at Le Mans."
The sister Toyota retired after 11 hours after an eventful race which saw the team of Alexander Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre and Kazuki Nakajima hold the lead for a short period of time.
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