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Spa 24h: Aitken, Rigon taken to hospital after Raidillon crash

Williams Formula 1 reserve Jack Aitken and Ferrari factory driver Davide Rigon have been transferred to hospital after a major accident in the opening hour of the Spa 24 Hours.

Watch: 24 Hours of Spa: Full Race Highlights

Aitken's Emil Frey Lamborghini and Rigon's Iron Lynx Ferrari were involved in a four-car accident at the top of Eau Rouge on the 10th lap of the double-points round of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, which resulted in an extended period of yellow-flag running.

The injuries of Aitken and Rigon were described by the race organisation as non-life threatening.

The other drivers involved were Porsche factory driver Kevin Estre, who is racing for the Rutronik team, and Franck Perera, who is competing in another of the Emil Frey Lambos.

They have already been discharged from the circuit medical centre and have returned to their teams.

Estre explained that he had no time to react the accident as it unfolded: "Suddenly I saw a lot of smoke and a lot of debris in front of me over the crest. When I braked, I didn't really know where to go, cause I couldn't really see if there was a car stopped or anything.

"I just saw debris and some smoke. I stayed on my line, but then apparently I hit the Lamborghini of Jack Aitken on the right side. It was quite a big hit, which spun me and brought me into the barrier. So I think that's how it happened. But I'm not sure yet. As I said, I couldn't really see."

No TV footage of the incident or its aftermath has been shown.

The race was neutralised with a Full Course Yellow, a virtual safety car with an 80km/h speed limit, before the safety car was sent out to bunch up the field ahead of the restart.

The race went green after approximately one hour and 20 minutes of yellow-flag running while the barriers were repaired.

Pole winner Raffaele Marciello was leading the race aboard the #88 Auto Sport Promotion Mercedes-AMG GT3 at the time of the accident.

He continued to lead the field from Mirko Bortolotti's FFF Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo through the first round of pitstops, which took place under the yellows.

A sudden downpour on the first lap after the restart then brought nearly the entire field to the pits for a change to wet-weather tyres.

Watch the race:

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Edition

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