LM24: Proton Porsche team out after crash

The Proton Competition Porsche tried to overcome an 11th-hour illness to Cooper MacNeil, but a hard crash forced the #89 to retire from Le Mans 24 Hours at the four and a half hour mark.

Keen was able to drive to the front of the LM GTE Am field and lead the race. Three hours into the event, he handed the WeatherTech Porsche over to Miller for his first stint. On lap 50 Miller encountered oil at the entrance of the Dunlop Curves and hit the wall. The damage to the Porsche RSR was too severe to continue.

"I was just settling into rhythm and I was getting comfortable," Miller said. "A Porsche was dumping radiator fluid on the track. It is a fifth gear down to fourth. The car went away so fast. Once you go through fluid you are not stopping. I did everything I could really to try and get the car back to the pits. I took parts off the car and put it inside the car. I know the fans in that corner saw how hard the WeatherTech drivers all work. I feel bad for everyone."

"Even after the crash, we came together as a group and there was disappointment, but also some laughter," Keen said. "They know what racing is about and these things happen. It is tough when we put our hearts into the effort."

The team attempted to replace the silver-rated MacNeil with Gunnar Jeannette, who drove for Proton at the pre-event test but did not take part in practice or qualifying.

But MacNeil, who has a fever, tweeted claiming the medical team had ruled him out of driving and the officials then rejected the attempted substitution.

"FIA/ACO Doctor declared me unfit to drive," he wrote. "I guess it's more safe to run two drivers than put someone in the car that has done this race many times. Makes a lot of sense to me."

Jeannette, 34, contested this year's Daytona 24 Hours and Sebring 12 Hours with the Alex Job Racing GTD team in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Autosport.com contributed to this report.