The young driver from Laval, Arthur Rogeon, who is making his debut in endurance this season, encountered a major obstacle on the way to his first participation in the Road to Le Mans. On May 3 during qualifying for the Michelin Le Mans Cup on the Paul Ricard circuit, he went off the road as the rain appeared just at the very moment when he was braking at the entrance to the La Verrerie Esses. The result was a heavy collision with the wall, which led to the fitting of a spinal immobilisation corset and a five-week ‘pit stop’ without either sporting activity or simulator driving! But this weekend, he regained his licence and his place in the crew of the no. 30 CD Sport Duqueine alongside Thomas Imbourg. So, off to Le Mans!
The road to Le Mans is long … even when you come from the Mayenne department bordering the Sarthe! Arthur had more or less come to terms with the fact that his first outing on the big 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit would not happen this year. “I preferred to think about getting better rather than racing at all costs. You get used to the corset but it’s annoying, you can’t move much, you have to wear it all day, and I could only take it off to sleep. It’s not practical in a car, but I was still able to go and watch my younger brother Hugo race in the local league and the NSK karting championships.”
Arthur had a scan last Wednesday and knew that the verdict concerning his participation in the most important race of the season for the LMP3 competitors would be delivered at the end of the week. In the middle of the Whitsun weekend, the combined efforts of Laurent Cazenave, one of the directors of CD Sport, the French Motor Sport Federation, and his doctor led to the situation being resolved. “My surgeon told me that I was ‘repaired’ and I was able to remove my brace. He immediately sent the certificate of recovery and the attestation of non-contraindication to the practice of motorsport to the FFSA, which reactivated my licence straight away. I would like to thank everyone who helped me recover and who moved things forward to allow me to tackle this major event in a calm state of mind. I quickly got back on the simulator to learn the circuit, and on Tuesday I will be at Le Mans to meet the race doctor who wants to check me, and to attend the Road to Le Mans briefing.”
All’s well that begins well. Now it’s time for the practice sessions and then the race!
Road to Le Mans timetable:
Wednesday 11 June: Free practice 1 at 11:15am, Free practice 2 at 8:30pm
Jeudi 12 June: Qualifying 1 at 11:45am, Qualifying 2 at 12:20pm, Race 1 at 18:25pm
Samedi 14 June: Race 2 at 10:05am
