Duval says he has no Le Mans crash after-effects

Audi World Endurance Championship driver Loic Duval says that he suffered no after-effects from his heavy crash in practice for the Le Mans 24 Hours on his return to the wheel last weekend.

The 32-year-old finished fourth in the Super Formula round at Motegi in Japan on Sunday, which was the first time he had driven any kind of racing car since his aerial accident in the Porsche Curves at Le Mans.

"After two or three laps, I knew everything was OK and that I was fully up to speed I felt 100 percent mentally," he said. "When you miss a big race, the most important race of the season, and still have problems with your vision a couple of weeks later, there is always going to be a question mark about getting back in the car.

"I felt a little pressure flying out to Japan, but now it feels like nothing happened."

Duval, who races for the Team LeMans in Super Formula, explained that it had been decided that he should miss the Fuji round in mid-July and not test the R18 LMP1 coupe over the summer in order to allow him the maximum time to recover.

"The doctors, Audi and myself decided that I needed a complete rest; until the beginning of August I didn't even do any sport or training," explained Duval. "That's why I was a bit tired at the end of the race at Motegi: I have been training for less than a month, but I now have enough time before Austin [the next WEC round] to be 100 percent physically when I get to the USA."

Reigning WEC co-champion Duval, who shares the #1 Audi with Tom Kristensen and Lucas di Grassi, will get back behind the wheel of an R18 e-tron quattro during a test at an undisclosed venue next week.