Allan McNish & Mike Rockenfeller (video): Horror Le Mans 24-Hour Crashes

Allan McNish gave Le Mans marshals and photographers a much closer look at the underside of a speeding Audi Le Mans Prototype than any of them would have bargained for when everything went wrong attempting a risky overtaking move.

The incident highlighted a number of things. Most importantly, the incredible strength and ability of modern racing cars to shed the energy of an impact while protecting the driver.

The second is the incredible challenge of multiple class racing.

The  closing speeds between the high-end LMP1 cars and the GT cars is quite incredible, particularly in the corners. It's what makes Le Mans racing one of the most exciting motorsports in the world and the Le Mans 24-Hour one of the world's great races.

Allan McNish: Le Mans 24-Hour Crash

McNish, a two-time winner at the Le Mans 24 Hour, was attempting a pass on teammate Timo Bernhard and GT driver, Anthony Beltoise, and went for a gap that simply wasn’t there.

Beltoise turned in to the apex of the corner, only to find McNish’s R18 had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.

The results were at once terrifying and spectacular.

The speeding Audi flew over the gravel, shedding very little energy before slamming into the wall before impacting with the tyre wall on the left rear corner.

The speed of the impact saw McNish’s car climb the tyre wall, spinning and showering the assembled media and officials with shattered car parts.

A wheel, complete with lethal, shattered suspension components, chased a photographer down a service road.

It seemed like only a matter of inches prevented the Audi from clearing the wall and plunging into the assembled throng. Had that happened, the injury toll would have been massive.

Fortunately, McNish was able to walk away and while he was checked out in a hospital, he did return briefly to the track to see his team before going home for a good lie down and, presumably, fresh underwear.

Mike Rockenfeller Le Mans 24-Hour Crash

In what proved to be a bad night for the Audi team, No. 1 driver Mike Rockenfeller, also experienced the perils of passing a much slower GT car.

The footage shows Rockenfeller flashing his headlights to warn the Ferrari driver of his approach, but to no avail. The two cars touched and Rockenfeller's Audi speared head-on into the crash barrier.

After remaining trapped in the car for a long time, Rockefeller was eventually extricated from the car and taken to hospital where he was found to be unhurt, but was kept in for observation.

Meanwhile, the race goes on.