IndyCar's report on Dan Wheldon's accident is out

[Hun200kmh]

The level of destruction sustained by Wheldon's car is apparent in the following bit

#77 Chassis Inspection
The inspection of the chassis of the #77 found an intrusion of the right front pull rod of the suspension impaled through the top of the tub down toward the floor and between the legs of the driver.
This suspension was cut away by the track safety team performing the extrication of the driver of the #77.
The suspension did not make contact with the driver, or penetrate his uniform.
This requires further investigation as in the 9 years of this chassis being used in race competition, this is the first known instance of an intrusion of this type.
The side intrusion panels performed as designed. The point of contact with the pole supporting the catch fence created significant damage to the tub, beginning at the pedal bulkhead. There was a deep void, extended along the upper border on the right side of the tub toward the steering bulkhead, and continued into the cockpit area. This void also damaged the steering column and shaft, temporarily binding the lower extremities of the driver. The roll bar and the entire top of the tub at the fuel cell compartment were sheared off. All of the detachable structures were stripped away, including all 4 wheel and suspension components.
The head surround horseshoe padding was broken into 3 large sections with signs of significant impact from the helmet. The driver’s restraints and seat belts were intact and functioning properly. While there was significant damage, the safety cell or tub generally performed as designed and gave the driver an opportunity to survive this accident. Inspection did not reveal the existence of pull back brakes (as further discussed below) or any set up abnormalities.
There was no evidence of vehicle mechanical or structural issues contributing to this accident.

Full report here. Worth a read ...

 

[GOTMAXPOWER]

This is all the evidence needed to make drastic changes to catch fencing, should've happened years ago to be honnest.

 

[Blitz24]

This is all the evidence needed to make drastic changes to catch fencing, should've happened years ago to be honnest.

The question is, how many changes can be made that don't compromise one series over another? Is there anything to suggest that the catch fences work for NASCAR but they don't for open wheel cars?

 

[LancerEvo7]

^NASCAR cars just bounce off with minor/moderate damage to fence and car. Open-wheel driver protection should be the priority.

 

[Barra333]

This is all the evidence needed to make drastic changes to catch fencing, should've happened years ago to be honnest.

Reading the report:

The Las Vegas Motor Speedway fencing is typical of many race tracks and consists of 4 - 4.5 inch diameter poles mounted and secured to the backside of the wall and properly anchored. The fence is then created by cables attached to the trackside of the poles and fence fabric to the outside. The fencing is approximately 14 feet high. The fencing (including post, cables and fabric) at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway was found to have performed to all expectation in retaining a race car from leaving the track(31). The only change that would be preferred is for the fence fabric to be on the track side of the post rather its current configuration. While there is no evidence that placement of the fabric would have changed the consequences of this accident, there are accident scenarios that can be envisioned in which the fabric placement might have some significance. For that reason, the preferred fabric placement at any track hosting an INDYCAR event is on the trackside of the fence post.

31. The primary purpose of the fence is to protect spectators.

How exactly do you propose these drastic fence changes work? Fences need posts. Dan was very unlucky to find one of the said posts.

 

[Hun200kmh]

Oh come on, fences need posts but I'm sure there are many clever technicians and engineers out there capable of designing fences in a way that makes the impact be also absorbed by the post structure, or a fence design that has the posts behind the fences, or whatever other solution can be arranged.

Being a (motor)biker this reminds me of the times when we had to fight the "killer guardrails" with poles that could cut a guy in two. And things started to change, thanks to the seriousness of the work carried out by organizations like FEMA.


There's always a solution, and it's never perfect, but if you look for it you'll end up with a better system anyway.

 

[Rich S]

The level of destruction sustained by Wheldon's car is apparent in the following bit



Full report here. Worth a read ...

It was one of the more horrifying crashes of the last 20 years in big league car racing.... Very fascinating read, albeit a bit morbid. Thanks for this Hun.

 

[Barra333]

Oh come on, fences need posts but I'm sure there are many clever technicians and engineers out there capable of designing fences in a way that makes the impact be also absorbed by the post structure, or a fence design that has the posts behind the fences, or whatever other solution can be arranged.

There is a reason why I'm not an engineer... but yes, as the report suggested, posts behind fences would be a good start.

Being a (motor)biker this reminds me of the times when we had to fight the "killer guardrails" with poles that could cut a guy in two. And things started to change, thanks to the seriousness of the work carried out by organizations like FEMA.

The motorcyclists here are equally unhappy about the wire barriers such as in section 4.3 of your linked report.

There's always a solution, and it's never perfect, but if you look for it you'll end up with a better system anyway.

Yes.

Maybe my last post sounded a little blunt