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New footage shows Isaakyan's dramatic LMP1 WEC crash at Spa

Footage has emerged of LMP1 driver Matevos Isaakyan's dramatic airborne crash during last weekend's World Endurance Championship season-opener at Spa.

Isaakyan crashed out of the race with around an hour remaining while fighting for a podium place in the #17 SMP Racing BR Engineering BR1-AER he shares with Stephane Sarrazin and Egor Orudzhev.

TV pictures did not show the incident at the time, although the Russian driver was understood to have become at least partially airborne before hitting the barriers on the far side of the track opposite Raidillon.

A video shot from the top of Eau Rouge shows what happened at the beginning of the incident in more detail, with Isaakyan's car appearing to become airborne as it crosses the ripples at Raidillon and completing at least two backflips before coming to rest.

Isaakyan was taken to the medical centre for routine checks after the crash but was unhurt.

The footage emerged on the same day 2009 Formula 1 champion Jenson Button made his test debut in the SMP BR1 he'll share in this year's Le Mans 24 Hours with Vitaly Petrov and Mikhail Aleshin.

Button drove at the Magny-Cours circuit on Wednesday, with a representative of SMP Racing reporting that "all went really well" and that the Briton was "very happy".

Zdroj: autosport.com