Le Mans racer breaks back in violent crash

Toyota Le Mans racer Anthony Davidson has been has been diagnosed with a broken back after his violent crash in the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Initially it seemed as though the 33-year-old Briton had escaped serious injury but after checks at the local hospital the full extent of his injuries became clear.

"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..." Davidson wrote on Twitter.

Immediately after the crash he was able to climb from the wreckage of his car, but he reported back pain to the medical crews on the scene and was carefully extracted and taken to hospital via ambulance.

It is not clear at this stage how long he will have to remain in hospital but he is likely to spend months out of racing recovering.

It was a bad way to end the day for the Toyota team. On its comeback to Le Mans after more than a decade of absence the sister car to Davidson had to be retired during the night with an engine problem.

It is not known at this stage if the engine problem was related to the experimental hybrid system the team is using.

- © Fairfax NZ News