Calls for IndyCar to lead the way in better head protection for drivers have intensified following Justin Wilson’s tragic accident at Pocono.
Wilson died from a severe head injury after being struck by what appeared to be the nosecone dislodged from Sage Karam’s single-car crash.
The accident comes just over a year since James Hinchcliffe suffered a head injury from debris during the Indianapolis road course race and four years since Dan Wheldon lost his life when his car slewed into the catch fencing at Las Vegas.
Head injuries in the immediate past also saw Cristiano da Matta’s career ruined when he suffered a subdural hematoma after a collision with a deer during a Champ Car test at Road America in 2006.
Da Matta’s Brazilian compatriot Felipe Massa was struck in the head by a suspension spring flung from the machine of Rubens Barrichello during the Hungarian F1 Grand Prix in 2009.
Massa underwent surgery for a deep wound near his left eye and made a remarkable recovery.
A week earlier Henry Surtees died during a Formula 2 race at Brands Hatch when a wheel and tyre struck him in the head.
Jules Bianchi lost his life 10 months after his head struck a recovery tractor during the Japanese Grand Prix in October last year with an official report saying a closed cockpit may not have resulted in a better chance of survival.
The FIA is believed to be planning a fresh round of closed cockpit tests for open wheel machines in the near future.
FIA technical director Charlie Whiting has foreseen that a huge amount of research and development had gone into closed cockpit designs which he says will certainly be introduced in the future.
Extensive testing of jet fighter-style canopy arrangements has been undertaken by the FIA in the past.
In the US, a cover has been approved, but is not mandatory, in NHRA Top Fuel cars since 2012.
A canopy or similar cover would have almost certainly lessened the blow in Wilson’s case with the weight of the nosecone which was dislodged estimated at over 17kg.
UK-based team owner Trevor Carlin who fields an expansive operation which includes multiple open-wheel categories in Europe and also a successful Indy Lights team, says there is no reason why a design that meets all single-seater classes cannot be found quickly.
“While motorsport is as ‘safe’ as it has ever been and will never be without risks due to its very nature, if there are obvious solutions, we should pursue them and we should do so quickly and with serious intent,” Carlin wrote on his team’s website in the wake of the Wilson tragedy.
“Money is not the issue here. We are in an industry/sport which has a combined annual spend of billions of pounds, surely between us all we can find a solution quickly; proportionally all the teams and manufacturers can contribute for the greater good.
“There is no reason why a system cannot be designed and produced that ultimately fits all modern single seaters, an F4 driver is at the same risk as an Indy Car driver.
“Engineers will always find excuses why it won’t work, but if as much time was spent looking for solutions instead of problems we would reach the answer sooner and lives will be saved.”
Graham Rahal, who is second in the IndyCar Series behind Juan Montoya heading into the final at Sonoma this weekend, says it is imperative IndyCar works on a solution for greater head protection in the open wheel machines.
“More than ever we’ve got to be the first series to figure (protection) out,” Rahal told the Indianapolis Star newspaper.
Wilson’s death is the eighth in top level American open wheel racing since 1996.
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