Le Mans Series pace car mistake causes pileup [w/video]

The inaugural race of the 2011 Le Mans Series, Le Castellet 6-Hours, got off to a nasty beginning today, with a mistake by the pit car causing a huge pileup in the GT field. Thanks to a hump in the back stretch of the Paul Ricard HTTT circuit, cars at the back of the pack can't see the front of the field, just the green light telling them to go.

At the start of Le Castellet, the lights turned green, but the pace car didn't leave the track. Fortunately for the Audi pace car driver, the prototype field saw his mistake and slowed down abruptly.

Those in GT, thinking the race was still green, crested the rise to be met with much slower traffic. The resulting panic stops led to pandemonium, which left at least one Farnbacher-Loles Porsche out of commission before the race even got started. Check out the video after the jump.

[Source: Axis of Oversteer via Jalopnik]