Webber and the repaired CLR returned to the track in a final practice session on the morning of the race, but during its first lap around the circuit, the car once again became airborne and landed on its roof.

[6] The accidents led to changes in the regulations dictating the design of Le Mans racing cars[7] as well as alterations to the circuit itself to increase safety.

Following the collapse of the ITC at the end of the 1996 season, Mercedes' attention shifted to a new international series, the FIA GT Championship.

[9] Racing partners AMG were tasked with developing a design to meet the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's GT1 regulations for the new championship.

A major change for the new design was the replacement of the CLK GTR's V12 engine with a smaller V8, thought by Mercedes to be more suitable to take on longer endurance events such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a race not part of the FIA GT calendar.

Mercedes, no longer able to compete in the FIA GT Championship with the CLK LMs, chose to concentrate on the ACO's new LMGTP category.

[18] Work on designing a new car to meet LMGTP regulations began in September 1998 as Mercedes was closing out its second FIA GT Championship season.

[12] Mercedes-Benz's brand image was also retained with the reuse of CLK-Class styled tail lights from the CLK LM and a front fascia, grille and headlamps based on the then-new CL-Class.

[24] Mercedes publicly announced its CLR programme in February 1999[25] just days before the first car began private testing at California Speedway in the United States.

[4] Testing continued into March at California as well as Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida[23] before the team moved to the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in France.

Retained from the FIA GT programme were Christophe Bouchut, Jean-Marc Gounon, Bernd Schneider, Marcel Tiemann, and Mark Webber.

[28] Former Macau Grand Prix winner and All-Japan Formula Three champion Peter Dumbreck also came from an open wheel racing background.

[32] By winning the 1998 FIA GT Championship, Mercedes were awarded a single guaranteed entry for Le Mans, which was assigned to Gounon, Tiemann, and Webber in CLR No.

[8][34] The CLR suddenly lifted its nose and front wheels off the circuit and became airborne, flipping upwards and somersaulting backwards before rotating onto its side.

4 was returned to Mercedes at the end of the qualifying session and the team issued a press release confirming that they could repair the car before the start of the race two days later.

[b] Webber was able to recover from his injuries by spending the following day in physical training and was cleared on Saturday morning to participate in the race.

Approaching Mulsanne Corner, Webber trailed his two teammates but was approximately 15 m (50 ft) behind a Chrysler Viper GTS-R entered by Team Oreca.

Television cameras located at Mulsannes Corner captured the aftermath of the accident and broadcast pictures of the CLR on its roof to the worldwide audience.

[38] Norbert Haug, head of Mercedes-Benz's motorsport activities, contacted Adrian Newey, chief aerodynamicist of the McLaren Formula One team, for consultation on modifying the remaining CLRs to prevent further accidents.

[27] Mercedes opted to make modifications to the front bodywork of the two remaining cars by adding dive planes to the fenders for increased downforce but sacrificing overall top speed.

The Mercedes and Toyota were nose to tail on the run from Mulsannes Corner to Indianapolis at nearly 200 mph (320 km/h) with both drivers partially blinded by the setting sun ahead of them.

At a slight right kink in the straight, Dumbreck's CLR ran over the small apex kerbing and suddenly lifted its front wheels from the ground before somersaulting backwards as the entire car became airborne.

The car impacted the ground in an area of woods alongside the circuit that had been cut and cleared only two weeks prior and was inaccessible to spectators.

[44] Dumbreck was knocked unconscious after the initial impact[5] but awoke and climbed from the car where he was found by the marshals and local Gendarmerie officers in the area.

[42] Dumbreck was later given a breathalyser test by the officers due to Le Mans' use of public roads[5][8] before being transported by ambulance to a local hospital for examinations before being released.

[35] Following the race the ACO and the Fédération Française du Sport Automobile (FFSA) national motorsport body investigated the incidents.

[7] The FIA also instructed its Advisory Expert Group to develop new regulations to prevent similar airborne accidents in other racing cars.

[51] Shortly after Le Mans, Mercedes conducted its own examination of the accidents by running the remaining CLR on an airfield to verify wind tunnel data.

Although no conclusions were published by Mercedes, the company cancelled the rest of its 1999 programme, withdrawing from the Norisring exhibition event and the final three rounds of the American Le Mans Series.

Speed Channel, as part of its tenth anniversary, named its broadcast of Dumbreck's accident as the fourth most memorable moment in the network's history.