Huge Aston Martin-McLaren LMGT3 crash deemed racing incident after stewards probe
The huge accident involving Finn Gehrsitz in the World Endurance Championship’s Fuji 6 Hours has been deemed a racing incident by the stewards, with neither the German nor Aston Martin factory driver Mattia Drudi held predominantly responsible for the contact.
With a little less than one hour to go in the race, Drudi and Gehrsitz were battling for position in class when the pair made contact, sending the #58 Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 of Gehrsitz hard into the barriers. While the German left the scene uninjured, the race was turned upside down due to the subsequent safety car intervention.
After the race, both drivers were summoned to the stewards, with all parties agreeing that neither side was predominantly to blame. The report also mentions a third car exiting the pitlane as one of the factors leading to the contact with rather dramatic consequences.
“During the hearing, the driver of Car 58 explained that he intended to remain close to Car 27 to benefit from the side draft and gain additional speed”, the official document read.
“Both drivers explained that, given the high speed at which they were travelling, the proximity of the cars and the presence of another car exiting the pit lane, they attempted to maintain a straight trajectory.”
“Finally, both drivers considered the incident to be a racing incident, with neither driver considering the other to be predominantly responsible for the contact.”
“Having considered the matter extensively, the Stewards determined that no significant or abrupt steering movement was evident from either car.”
“They were also unable to establish that either driver was predominantly responsible for the contact. The Stewards therefore determined that the incident was a racing incident and decided that no further action was necessary.”
With the drivers unable to speak to the press due to their hearing in the stewards’ office, Motorsport.com caught up with their respective team-mates.
HUGE CRASH for Finn Gehrsitz 💥
The #58 McLaren has suffered a heavy impact at Fuji and retires from the race. The driver is safely out of the car.#WEC#6HFujipic.twitter.com/3rlcGqrHvP
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) September 27, 2026
Goethe: “I’m glad he is okay”
Both Benjamin Goethe, sharing the #58 McLaren with Gehrsitz and Anthony West, and Zach Robichon, teammate of Drudi and Ian James in the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin, agreed that the outcome was rather unfortunate given the relatively minor contact.
“Honestly, it looks like it was close racing and it’s really unfortunate what happened to the other car,” Robichon told Motorsport.com.
“I’m glad he’s okay and I think it was a case of nobody giving space. I think that’s all there was to it.”
In a twist of fate, the accident even helped the #27 car, with Drudi moving up to eight during the pit stop cycle under Safety Car and then carving through the field to secure second at the finish line.
“What a crazy end to the race. I think Mattia just did a fantastic job of keeping it clean. You say so often that if you don’t make mistakes you’ll find yourself in a good position, and that is exactly what happened,” Robichon said.
“I think everybody was super aggressive after the restart and we just kind of picked up the pieces when others were fighting. We put the car in the right spot, didn’t take any unnecessary risks, and look what happened. It just goes to show if you’re smart, you can come out near the top.”
Both McLarens lose out
Goethe echoed Robichon’s statements regarding the unfortunate outcome of contact that in other circumstances would have resulted in minor door-banging.
“From what I saw on the onboard camera, it looks like they both moved slightly towards each other. I think the reason they were getting so close to each other was that Finn was trying to get a side draft,” Goethe told the media after the race.
“Normally, this contact would just be a little door-to-door contact which doesn’t result in a crash. It’s just a little tap and you get on with the race.
“I think, in this case, unfortunately, the wheels made contact, which led to the car being lifted and shooting off to the left, which is quite rare. I think it’s very unfortunate and I don’t think it was anyone’s fault in particular, just a racing incident and very unlucky.
“I spoke to Finn briefly before he went to the stewards’ office. He’s obviously quite disappointed as it ended our race, but the important thing was to see that he was able to walk, able to stand up, and able to communicate without bad injuries, which is always good,” Goethe added.
The accident was a double blow to the Garage 59 team, as the #10 McLaren shared by Antares Au, Tom Fleming, and Marvin Kirchhofer lost the LMGT3 lead at the final pitstop when Kirchhofer was jumped by both Corvettes despite not taking fresh tyres.
This decision led to the German slipping further down the order once the race had restarted, as he was passed by several cars that had taken on a fresh set of new Goodyears.
“Not changing tyres was the right move at the time to keep track position, not knowing how long the safety car would be out,” Goethe said.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t really work out. They struggled a bit on pace with the double-stinted tyres, so sometimes it works out for you, sometimes it doesn’t. I think this race especially didn’t work out for both cars, so it’s really unfortunate.”
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