Mark Webber’s Mercedes-Benz CLR became airborne and flipped during the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans warm-up laps.
And not just Mark; a similar incident occurred when Peter Dumbreck drove an equivalent Mercedes-Benz CLR.
There were a series of aerodynamic miscalculations due to the sensitive platform.
These events resulted in Mercedes-Benz withdrawing the Mercedes team from Le Mans.
It appears there have been numerous instances in motorsport where race cars have become airborne.
But when the number of such instances is relatively infrequent considering the number of racing competitions worldwide, it’s not necessarily newsworthy.
Not content with his Le Mans flight, in the 2010 European GP, Mark’s Red Bull race car, following a collision, became airborne.
In the 2016 Australian Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso collided and became airborne.
During the 1985 Belgian Grand Prix, Ayrton Senna soared momentarily.
As a result of mechanical failure, Mika Häkkinen and his McLaren became aerial.
Incredibly, the drivers escaped largely unscathed on all occasions, and all returned to racing.
As to Mercedes and its flying CLRs, they have never returned to 24 Hours Le Mans.
