Hidden Valley Raceway has undergone a safety upgrade designed to prevent the injuries sustained by Lee Holdsworth following his nasty crash at the venue last year.
The Northern Territory venue has installed a tyre wall in front of the concrete wall on the left hand side of the Turn 1 exit ahead of this weekend’s CrownBet Darwin Triple Crown.
Holdsworth sustained fractures to his pelvis, right knee and two ribs following a side on 56G impact with the concrete wall which sidelined him for three events.
The addition of the barrier, featuring 2,500 tyres, is the latest in a line of upgrades completed at the venue, which includes the extension of the pit lane debris fence.
Holdsworth says he is glad changes have been made to the circuit as the sport strives to improve safety.
“I would have liked to have seen that (barrier) there 12 months ago but sometimes it takes a big incident like mine to fix these things and bring those safety issues to the forefront,” Holdsworth told Speedcafe.com.
“We are continually upgrading the safety aspects of our sport, with the cars in terms of leg protection, and also the tracks, so it is good to see something has been done about it.
“I would have been concerned if something wasn’t done. It is good to see there is a fix there.
“We need to keep looking at danger zones at all the tracks and make sure we are ahead of the game.”
The Supercars field will run on the new improved circuit for the first time during practice on Friday.
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