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As my Mechanics professor would always say, it's not the m dv (changed in momentum) that hurts, its the F dt (impulse).
Energy goes as E = ½mv². twice as fast means 4x the energy, twice as heavy means 2x. The energy is what needs to be bled off in order to bring the object to a stop.
Probably the biggest safety improvement (IMO) is the use of crumple zones that selectively bleed off velocity and extend the collision time, thus reducing the effective collision forces.
Not sure if an open cockpit would have made much of a difference in this crash. What made a difference (again, IMO) is the roll bar like structure that kept the driver's head from being a contact point on the pavement. No doubt, the HANS device was also a key component.
Just glad (and somewhat amazed) that Bourdais is doing as well as he is.
Reminiscent of the Gordon Smiley crash, considered one of the worst ever. Seb hit the wall at 227 and pulled 100g. Credit safety advances for saving him:
Safer barrier
Hans
Reinforced tub (prevention of a Hinchcliffe intrusion)
Cockpit side intrusion reinforcements
Looks like Seb left the hospital under his own power today, albeit with crutches. Huge testament to the safety of the cars today
I thought for sure he was dead when I saw that crash. That's great news to hear he's relatively ok. Not even a concussion or brain injury. Awesome! I can't imagine what a hit like that would feel like. Glad I'll probably never know.
I met him briefly years ago at Sears Point. Seemed very nice. Before that, I met his CART crew at the San Jose GP. They really liked him... of course they were winning a lot.
Got to hang with Dale Coyne and Walter Payton a bit at a Laguna event back in the CART days-- Dale was really a nice guy. That team was doing really well until this bad wreck. I guess kind of punching above their weight.
I had a bad feeling last Saturday morning regarding Indy quali. Don't know why. Had a chat with Memo Gidley at Sears Point midday, and mentioned my uneasy feeling. Didn't dwell on it though. Then an hour or so later I heard about this crash.
I hope he recovers fully in all ways, and that the rest of the practices and the race are free of bad crashes.
By the way, there was a pretty decent article in a recent Road and Track about Newgarden. One of the things it mentioned was the number of deaths in top level US open wheel racing in the past 20 or 30 years. I didn't realize it was such a high number.
Still remember being in the Porsche media center at RRIV/Laguna when the coverage of Weldon's death at Indy Car Vegas was on every TV. It was the end of the weekend and the only other driver in there was Derek Bell.
Don't like to see these kinds of accidents. Glad to see that ever increasing safety measures are being undertaken.
Last edited by Mahler9th; 05-26-2017 at 01:04 AM.
Reason: fixed it
Dale Coyne Racing announced that Sebastien Bourdais will return to drive the team’s No. 18 Honda this weekend at the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Valvoline, less than 14 weeks after the four-time Indy car champion suffered hip and pelvic fractures when he crashed during an Indianapolis 500 qualifications attempt.
Bourdais made an amazing recovery from the injuries and was cleared to drive by Dr. Geoffrey Billows, INDYCAR medical director, on Aug. 16 following a successful test at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on July 31. He will join the rest of the Verizon IndyCar Series field for practice on Friday to open the race weekend at Gateway Motorsports Park.
“You have no idea how excited I am to be getting back in the car this weekend and for the remainder of the season,” said Bourdais, who won the season-opening race in his hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida, in March to run his career victory total to 36 – sixth best all time. “It’s been a long 14 weeks and I’ve worked very hard to get to this point.
“Following the crash, I had one goal in mind and that was to be back for Sonoma (the season finale on Sept. 17), and here I am getting back in the car with three races to go. It’s a bit unbelievable but I can’t wait to try out that new surface at Gateway this weekend!”
Bourdais’ return means rookie Esteban Gutierrez will be stepping aside, as planned, to allow the Frenchman to get back in the car.
“It’s been a very interesting few months for me getting to race in the Verizon IndyCar Series on the street circuits, road courses and especially ovals,” said Gutierrez, whose best finish in seven races was 13th place at Iowa Speedway. “I want to thank the team and Dale Coyne for giving me this opportunity to gain this experience in view of a full-time program in the Verizon IndyCar Series next year. My goal was to learn as much as possible in order to be ready for 2018, where a new car will be introduced. This experience with the team will pay dividends next season.”
Bourdais will team once again with rookie Ed Jones in the Dale Coyne Racing stable for the final three races – the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 on Saturday, the INDYCAR Grand Prix at The Glen on Sept. 3 and the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma on Sept. 17 to conclude the 2017 season.
“It’s great to have Sebastien back,” team owner Dale Coyne said, “but I want to thank Esteban for the amazing job he did filling in for him these last few months. It wasn’t easy for him coming in and having never driven an Indy car, but he did a fantastic job, especially on the ovals. For someone that had never driven on an oval track before Iowa in July, he impressed a lot of people including myself. Hopefully we get to work with him again in the future.”
The Bommarito Automotive Group 500 airs live on NBCSN and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network beginning at 9 p.m. ET Saturday. The race will come 14 weeks to the day since Bourdais' crash at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
05-22-2017, 09:43 PM
