The ByKolles Racing Team became the first to officially retire from the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans after Dominik Kraihamer crashed heavily in the Porsche Curves after contact with the #80 Ebimotors Porsche 911 RSR GTE Am entry.
Kraihamer was attempting to lap the Frenchman but made contact with the Porsche, spinning him into the barriers and causing heavy damage to the LMP1 machine, ending their afternoon on the spot with no chance of the Austrian being able to return to the pits for repairs.
It ended another disappointing race for ByKolles, who were also the first retirees twelve months ago with a mechanical issue with less than ten laps on the board, with the 2018 event starting in a slightly embarrassing manner before the flag was even flown to start it!
Tom Dillmann was the nominated starting driver for the #4 ENSO CLM P1/01-Nismo machine but was unable to pull away from the grid when the rest of the field streamed away behind the pace car, with the delay forcing the Frenchman to start right from the back of the pack. Dillmann was eventually able to get the going, but while trying to catch up the field, spun at the exit of the Ford Chicanes.
The car had made it up into the top ten by the time Kraihamer crashed out, however it meant that the third driver in the team, Oliver Webb, was unable to get any time in the car.
