The death of British IndyCar driver Justin Wilson has again raised questions about the safety of motor racing and prompted calls for the introduction of closed cockpits.
IndyCar officials announced on Monday that Wilson had died from severe head injuries he suffered in a crash at Pocono Raceway, in Pennsylvania, the previous day.
Wilson slammed into a wall after he was struck in the helmet by debris from a car he was following. He was airlifted to a hospital but never regained consciousness.
As tributes began flowing in following the announcement of his death, there were renewed calls for a review of safety in the sport.
“Safety is not one of those things that because you have a clear record for a certain amount of time that you stop doing development,” former race driver Eddie Cheever told ESPN.
“I think that it is time that solutions are looked for and I think it is time that the drivers got together and came up with a few ideas and I sincerely hope that some progress will be made on this issue.”
Since 1966 there have been 18 deaths in IndyCar, including the series’ previous incarnations as Cart/Champ Car and Indy Racing League. Eight have come at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway and all but two on ovals.
The last driver killed in IndyCar was Wilson’s fellow Englishman Dan Wheldon, who died in a fiery crash at Las Vegas in 2011, a year after he had won the Indy 500 for a second time.
His death also triggered calls for safety reviews, including suggestions that open-wheel racing be banned on oval tracks, where tightly packed cars reach speeds of 370 kilometres per hour.
Wilson once said injuries he had suffered in crashes, including a broken pelvis and bruised lung, and Wheldon’s death did nothing to change his perspective or make him question his career choice.
“You’ve got to know the risks and work out if those risks are acceptable,” Wilson said upon his return to racing in 2012.
“To me, it’s acceptable. But I’m not going to stop trying to improve it. All the drivers, this IndyCar, we’re always trying to make it safer, but at the end of the day, it’s a race car. We’re racing hard, we’re racing IndyCars and it’s fast. When it goes wrong, it can get messy.”
IndyCar officials have introduced several safety measures over the years, including safer walls and collapsible barriers designed to cushion impact as well as installing mobile hospitals and state-of-the-art trauma centres at race tracks.
IndyCar did not make any comments immediately after announcing Wilson’s death, out of respect for his family, but said they would comment in the next few days.
“We’re always looking at ways to make this sport safer,” Wilson’s teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay said immediately after the race.
“First, we had the innovation with the Safer barrier. Oval tracks in general, we need to start looking into the next 20 years, maybe making the walls a little bit higher. Maybe coming up with something a little bit better than just mesh fencing and poles.
“We need to start moving forward on it. And IndyCar has always been at the forefront of safety. I give them a lot of credit for that.”
Wilson’s accident was reminiscent of several other incidents when drivers have been hit by debris, sparking calls for the introduction of plastic canopies to create closed cockpits.
In 2009, Brazilian Formula One driver Felipe Massa was struck in the helmet by a spring from another car. Massa had brain surgery and made a full recovery.
In 2014, Canadian IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe was hit in the helmet by debris and suffered a concussion.
“These cars are inherently dangerous with the open cockpit like that, head exposed,” Hunter-Reay said.
“Maybe in the future we can work towards some type of … canopy, not a full jet-fighter canopy, but something that can give us a little protection but keep the tradition of the sport.”
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