Robert Linton

Once every so often I have the opportunity to speak with club racers who are interested in some of the projects upon which I am working. While much of what I have been doing may not be applicable to certain levels of club racing, a theme that applies to all forms of racing is safety. In this regard, all Rennlisters are no doubt familiar with the HANS Device (www.hansdevice.com) -- something that one would suggest be used by all racers. One of the reasons (i.e., excuses) often given for not using it is comfort via-a-vis the driver's seat. Now, however, Recaro (Porsche's historical and current OE race car seat supplier and the supplier of the seats for the Carrera GT) has come out with a seat that is built to improve the interface between seat and the HANS Device -- the Recaro Pro Racer SPG HANS®. I have no direct or indirect affiliation with HANS or Recaro but would most strenuously suggest looking at this combination as among the best possible investments that any racer can make.

chris walrod

For the 2000 CART season, I worked with our driver who (like all of them at that point, since HANS was not mandated) hated the lack of mobility and the 'inconvenience' of the HANS device. throughout the year, at selected events, he used it in practice and qualifying, eventually in the race itself. Little by little, we modified his foam seat and we got him comfortable, finally.

Now, most drivers that I speak with about it, say they are used to it and are not looking back. Again, I guess they really dont have much choice now that its mandated.

I imagine way back, drivers complained about hard helmets, full face helmets and whatever else was 'new' to them. All about getting use to something...