Tamil superstar Ajith Kumar escaped unhurt after crashing his car during a practice session for the upcoming Dubai 24 Hours race.
The 53-year-old actor, who launched his racing team Ajith Kumar Racing in September last year, is participating in the event alongside teammates Mathieu Detry, Fabian Duffieux, and Cameron McLeod. The race is scheduled to be held on January 11 and 12.
The official Instagram page of Ajith Kumar Racing shared a video of the incident. In the short clip, Ajith’s car is seen crashing into the barriers at high speed. In the next shot, the actor is seen getting out of the vehicle, seemingly without any injury.
"Ajith Kumar's massive crash in practice, but he walks away unscathed. Another day in the office … that's racing!" read the caption.
Held annually at the Dubai Autodrome, the racing event features high-performance GT and touring cars competing in a gruelling 24-hour format that tests speed, strategy, and endurance.
Suresh Chandra, Ajith’s manager, said all the drivers on the team had been practicing long driving sessions of around four hours each. During the last leg of his session, Ajith encountered a turn with limited visibility, leading to a slight shift in control and a spin-off crash, he added.
"The car was broken, but nothing happened to him. The ambulance rushed to the spot, and he walked away from the car. He was taken to the nearest grid, and a full examination was done... All results came immediately, nothing to worry about.
"He was lucky because there was nobody behind him. If there was a car behind, things would have been ugly," Chandra told PTI.
The crash, however, had an impact on the team's preparation for the race, he said.
"We have two cars for the race, one is now broken. The team is at a disadvantage. We just had a meeting and it is decided that Ajith will be in the pit helping the team and will race only if necessary. Ajith is keen that the team should continue no matter what," Chandra said.
Besides his racing endeavours, Ajith is awaiting the release of his next two feature films -- "Vidaamuyarchi" and "Good Bad Ugly".
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