José María López has been ruled out of this weekend’s FIA World Endurance Championship round at Spa due to “minor damage to two vertebrae”.
The No.7 Toyota LMP1 driver sustained the injury during a heavy crash at the WEC season-opener at Silverstone, hitting the barrier during a rain shower at Copse.
He got the damaged car back to the garage and following extensive repairs, it returned to the race 38 laps down to finish fourth in the LMP1 class.
López was taken to hospital as a precaution, as the ‘warning light’ came on in the crash, and he was released the same evening despite reports of suffering back pain.
Toyota has now confirmed he suffered “minor damage to two vertebrae” and will sit out of the 6 Hours of Spa, in order to make sure he is fully fit for Le Mans.
Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi will therefore be the only drivers of the No.7 Toyota LMP1 car for the Spa round.
“I’m extremely disappointed to miss this weekend’s race as I was really looking forward to driving the TS050 HYBRID at Spa,” López said.
“I feel basically fine but we all agree that we should take no chances; the priority is to be absolutely fit for Le Mans.
“Probably I could race if we were at a different track but a driver’s body experiences extreme forces through Eau Rouge so, after discussions with the FIA Medical Delegate and our team doctor, we decided I should not drive this weekend.”
