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Post by Spin on Aug 19, 2018 18:01:47 GMT -8
From Paul Tracy's Facebook
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Post by Buck on Aug 19, 2018 19:05:52 GMT -8
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Post by Placid on Aug 20, 2018 1:51:47 GMT -8
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Post by montybriscoe on Aug 20, 2018 3:18:31 GMT -8
Hans device failing speculative at best right now. Conway and Aleshin had similar injuries from similar crashes. Never heard hans devices failing in their accidents.
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Post by Buck on Aug 20, 2018 4:11:12 GMT -8
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Post by Placid on Aug 20, 2018 6:01:35 GMT -8
Hans device failing speculative at best right now. Conway and Aleshin had similar injuries from similar crashes. Never heard hans devices failing in their accidents. It is very true. It is just the position where his head landed on the side. A HANS failure is very rare. He was lucky that his head went on the side. If it would have hit the steering wheel, it could have been beyond worse.
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Post by wilmywood8455 on Aug 20, 2018 7:17:42 GMT -8
No matter how tightly adjusted, racing seat belts DO stretch.
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Post by Buck on Aug 20, 2018 12:51:51 GMT -8
No matter how tightly adjusted, racing seat belts DO stretch.
Seat belts don't restrain the helmet, the HANS device does. From the picture I think it is quite likely to have failed as the head (helmet) should not be in that location in the cockpit.
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Post by mmi16 on Aug 20, 2018 13:08:45 GMT -8
No matter how tightly adjusted, racing seat belts DO stretch.
Seat belts don't restrain the helmet, the HANS device does. From the picture I think it is quite likely to have failed as the head (helmet) should not be in that location in the cockpit.
Shoulder belts restrain the HANS - shoulder belts also stretch - the entirety of the incident exerted multiple force against the belts in all directions. With the spin imparted by the catch fencing it is highly likely that the shoulder belts 'COULD' have lost contact with the HANS.
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Post by Buck on Aug 20, 2018 14:20:18 GMT -8
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Post by wilmywood8455 on Aug 20, 2018 14:24:40 GMT -8
Seat belts don't restrain the helmet, the HANS device does. From the picture I think it is quite likely to have failed as the head (helmet) should not be in that location in the cockpit.
Shoulder belts restrain the HANS - shoulder belts also stretch - the entirety of the incident exerted multiple force against the belts in all directions. With the spin imparted by the catch fencing it is highly likely that the shoulder belts 'COULD' have lost contact with the HANS. The two shoulder belts are also the longest belts in the package, and restrain the heaviest part, the torso. Some stretch is to be expected, no matter how tightly they're pulled.
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Post by loudpedal on Aug 20, 2018 15:10:53 GMT -8
^Bottom line, everything has its limits and this crash was extremely severe. It probably tested most of the safety systems up to and beyond what they were designed for. The fact that he survived at all is pretty amazing. And while the extent of his injuries aren't totally clear, I'd say he came out of it in relatively good shape. (All things considered.) I just hope he's okay in the long run.
BTW, every time I see something like this I can't help but remember the crash that killed Dale Earnhart. I was watching that race live and have seen the replay countless times, but it never looked like a particularly severe crash. But he refused to wear a HANS (relatively new at the time) or even a full face helmet. Unthinkable these days. And were there even any SAFER barriers?
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Post by montybriscoe on Aug 20, 2018 15:36:59 GMT -8
I am worried about his spine.
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Post by Power Fan79 on Aug 20, 2018 17:25:58 GMT -8
I am worried about his spine. I have had a couple of spine injuries and I can say, it’s very serious. I can’t even do half the things I used to and I’m in constant discomfort. It’s going to be an uphill battle for Robert, but I’m hoping for the best.
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Post by olderguysrule on Aug 20, 2018 19:41:18 GMT -8
they'll never be able to make a open wheel race car safe enough to run on a oval. If ya want to keep the racers alive and healthy, ya gonna have to dump all the ovals except indi, which is to big to dump. but at indi, they'll have to limit the speeds. maybe 200 / 210 tops.
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Post by loudpedal on Aug 21, 2018 4:46:30 GMT -8
Pretty good article there. Also, they have some still photos of the accident as it happened. I didn't realize that Wickens' car actually slid across RHR's roll hoop, taking a bit of body work with it.
That was some pretty scary shit and a very near miss for RHR.
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Post by Spin on Aug 21, 2018 5:28:54 GMT -8
they'll never be able to make a open wheel race car safe enough to run on a oval. If ya want to keep the racers alive and healthy, ya gonna have to dump all the ovals except indi, which is to big to dump. but at indi, they'll have to limit the speeds. maybe 200 / 210 tops. I grew up around open wheel racing, it's part of the game. The drivers and teams know going in that there are risks and rewards to oval track racing, and year after year they show up helmet in hand, ready to do it again. Guys like Kasey Kahne turned down NASCAR rides to go back to open wheel, Tony Stewart got out of his own Cup ride to go back. Any of these guys could be in IMSA tomorrow if they wanted, in fact several in IMSA wish they could come back to open wheel. Everyone has their own definition of risk/reward.
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Post by Pistola on Aug 21, 2018 7:16:27 GMT -8
From the hospital reports on the area of the spine affected it doesn't seem likely that damage to the Hans device was involved. If I remember correctly the Hans device was designed to prevent fractures between the base of the skull and the spine. Wickens injuries are lower down in the thoracic or chest area and possibly related to whatever caused the bruising of the lung.
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Post by mmi16 on Aug 21, 2018 8:16:51 GMT -8
From the hospital reports om the area of the spine affected it doesn't seem likely that damage to the Hans device was involved. If I remember correctly the Hans device was designed to prevent fractures between the base of the skull and the spine. Wickens injuries are lower down in the thoracic or chest area and possibly related to whatever caused the bruising of the lung. I haven't seen any comments concerning his ability to move his arms and legs. That has me worried.
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Post by olderguysrule on Aug 22, 2018 19:33:35 GMT -8
they'll never be able to make a open wheel race car safe enough to run on a oval. If ya want to keep the racers alive and healthy, ya gonna have to dump all the ovals except indi, which is to big to dump. but at indi, they'll have to limit the speeds. maybe 200 / 210 tops. I grew up around open wheel racing, it's part of the game. The drivers and teams know going in that there are risks and rewards to oval track racing, and year after year they show up helmet in hand, ready to do it again. Guys like Kasey Kahne turned down NASCAR rides to go back to open wheel, Tony Stewart got out of his own Cup ride to go back. Any of these guys could be in IMSA tomorrow if they wanted, in fact several in IMSA wish they could come back to open wheel. Everyone has their own definition of risk/reward. indycars on ovals are coffins. plain and simple. this year, wickens. last year bourdais at a indi practice. 2015 hinchliffe nearly bought the farm. just because guys are willing to race on ovals, no matter the risk, doesn't mean they should.
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