Monday 17 October 2011

Dan Wheldon

The racing driver Dan Wheldon died in a horrific crash at the Las Vegas 300 Indycar race. As he is a sportsman from this area, I would like to salute him and his achievements and send deepest condolences to his family.

I gather that it has been years since there has been a fatality in Indycar and for that we should be grateful. Though who to I'm not sure, as the governing body of the sport doesn't seem a likely source of safety. Formula 1 is a race car sport with many twists and turns, slowing cars, but bringing them into close proximity. Fires are rare and all tracks (except Monaco) have large run-off area, gravel traps and cushioned 'walls'. This, added to the immensely strong car bodies and other safety features makes it a safe(ish) sport.

Indycar is run at high speed around a simple banked oval, with concrete walls on the outer edge (where centrifugal force pushes the cars). In the event of an accident the car is likely to strike the wall, disintegrate and then slide down across the track towards the in-field, probably in front of following cars, with any concomitant fire not being apparent as the fuel used, ethanol, burns almost invisibly. That to me seems a lot of stupid ideas, all brought together in one, already risky sport.

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