![Toyota gives new meaning to high profile launch at Le Mans [Video]](http://cdn4.leftlanenews.com/photos/content/june2012/thumbnails5.0/toyota-lemans-launched_653.jpg)
In the process, Davidson's hybrid was caught by the air and lifted into a flip. In what must have been a terrifying few moments, Davidson was reduced to being a mere passenger after Perrazini inadvertently nudged his Toyota off course.
Both drivers collided heavily with a safety barrier, with Perrazini actually passing through the tires to hit the steel fencing. Davidson was eventually sent to hospital for observation with suffering from shock and back pain. Following precautionary x-rays, it was revealed that he had suffered factures to two vertebra. He later tweeted with a degree of understatement, "Well that was a big one! Lying in a French hospital with a broken back wasn't what I had in mind at this stage in the race..."
Things didn't improve for the Toyota Hybrid team when on the re-start, the No. 7 TS030 of Kazuki Nakajima collided with the another high profile entrant into the race taking out the experimental Nissan DeltaWing driven by Satoshi Motoyama. Although attempts were made to get the American-designed DeltaWing up and running again, it was all for naught and it was forced to retire after putting in a decent first up showing in its first race outing.
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Nakajim's hybrid was able to limp back into the pits for extensive repairs to its right rear quarter before it could be repaired sufficiently to get it back on the track and circulating. By then, however, Toyota's chances of winning the race were well out of reach. While it was an up and down day for Toyota, Audi appeared to have the race sewn up with its R18 E-Tron Quattro prototypes headed for a comfortable victory.
