Natacha Gachnang, Le Mans objective

The Matech Compétition team, which will field two Ford GTs at the next 24 Hours of Le Mans, had made the decision to entrust the wheel of one of its cars to a 100% Swiss and 100% female trio composed of Rahel Frey, Cindy Alleman and Natacha Gachnang. Yes, but the spectacular accident suffered by the latter during the first round of the FIA ​​GT1 world championship in Abu Dhabi has somewhat upset the plans of Martin Bartek's team.
The cousin of Sébastien Buemi pulled straight at the end of the straight, and his Ford crashed into the pile of tires (see video opposite). She returns to the circumstances of this incident, of which a brake fluid leak was the cause.

“I remember the accident quite well, says the 22-year-old pilot. I pressed the clutch and moved my foot to the right and touched the accelerator, as my foot slipped. We don't yet know what caused the brake fluid leak but the team is looking into it. I was in a lot of pain when I was in the car and had to wait for help to get the car out of the security wall so that the security team could get me out of the car.

In the accident, the cameraman who filmed the action until the last moment was also injured, leaving with a broken nose.

?He looks like he waited until the last second to stop filming, so I guess he did his job very well, continues the native of Vevey. I remain positive, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is my goal, but it depends on my doctor and my progress. My ambition is to come back as quickly as possible, but I know that we must not rush things either. My tibia is fractured and I am aware that it will take a little time for everything to repair properly. I do physiotherapy, follow specific training and do exercises on the bike for my legs and muscles. I can't make any big moves right now. It’s very frustrating but I’m doing my best to get back into shape.”

During the second round of the FIA ​​GT1 World Championship at Silverstone, England, there was no trace of the No. 6 Ford on the starting grid. What will happen in Brno this weekend? The Swiss Matech Compétition team is in any case in good shape, as proven by its second and third places obtained last Sunday at the end of the 1000 km of Spa-Francorchamps, for its first appearance in the Le Mans Series. We now have to hope that Natacha Gachnang will manage to recover quickly enough to be able to support Cindy Allemann and Rahel Frey in Sarthe on June 12 and 13.