The 2011 IndyCar season finale is about to begin. The thirty-four drivers line up on the grid of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but there’s an unusual entrant at the back. Dan Wheldon had been without a permanent ride all season – he’d only started two races in 2011. Las Vegas was to be his third, this time with a very tasty incentive. He had been offered $5 million if he could win from the back of the grid by IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard as a way of adding to the spectacle, dubbed a ‘dash for cash’.
The race distance stands at 200 laps. 200 laps to pass 33 cars and make it to Victory Lane, a challenge that Wheldon, ever the racer, relished. ABC selected the two-time Indy 500 champion as their in-race reporter, and they talked to Wheldon just before the race start, where he told them, “I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t think that I could win”.
Formation lap done, it was time for the green flag, and Wheldon made up ten places in the first ten laps. If he continued at that pace, he’d stand a very good chance of being in the mix by lap 200 and he knew it.
Wade Cunningham and James Hinchcliffe made light contact on lap 12 in a seemingly insignificant incident. However, the numerous and fast-approaching cars changed that. Cunningham and Hinchcliffe were collected in a high-speed, 15-car wreck as drivers tried to avoid the chaos.
This type of wreck was more accustomed to NASCAR rather than IndyCar, but it wasn’t completely out of the ordinary. The consequences, however, were.
While 14 of the 15 drivers got away relatively unharmed, one didn’t. That one was Wheldon. There was a two-hour delay before the remaining drivers were given the news. It told them of something they knew could happen, but didn’t think ever would happen to them – they wouldn’t step in the car if they thought it would. The race was abandoned after the field completed a five-lap salute to their fallen friend, but this was just the start of what was to unfold.
2011 Indy 500 champion Dan Wheldon. Image courtesy of Greg Hildebrand (creative commons 2.0 )
On December 15th 2011, a 49-page document was published and released to the media, providing in-depth analysis of every angle of the 15-car crash that resulted in Wheldon’s death. It attributed his death to a “non-survivable” impact with a fence post on the catch fencing where his roll-hoop was torn off and left his helmeted head exposed.
As a result, Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s contract was temporarily suspended and eventually permanently ended after it was deemed that the series could no longer race there with ensured safety. The same fate almost befell Texas Motor Speedway, which is another high-banked oval, but after some consideration it remained on the calendar and is still there to this day.
Las Vegas have since expressed interest at returning to the schedule, but IndyCar management remain sceptical, not wanting to re-open old wounds or risk anything else at that track.
Since 16th October 2011, Bernard and IndyCar as a series have come under huge amounts of criticism for creating the deadly circumstances surrounding Wheldon’s death, namely the chance to earn $5 million, the often three-wide high-banked oval, the speeds in excess of 220mph and seasoned drivers having to fight against rookies. It is still such a worrying crash to look back on. Sure, the so-called ‘dash for cash’ competitions are no longer held, but the man-made nature of the circumstances are disturbing to say the least.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway hosting a Nascar event in 2011. Image courtesy of Tom Donoghue (under Creative commons 2.0)
This all happened at a time when IndyCar was far more like NASCAR than F1 and that was the direction that the series was being taken in. The directors wanted close, high-speed pack racing that was both unpredictable and dangerous in nature. But, while NASCARs can bump and barge without too much worry, open-wheeled IndyCars, quite clearly, cannot.
This has since been turned around. A change of series directors brought about a change in attitude, and the realisation that IndyCar was not NASCAR and shouldn’t try to be like it because it just wasn’t going to work. The controversial and often polarising duo of Bernard and Brian Barnhart are no longer part of IndyCar’s management, with the former being removed in 2012 and the latter leaving to set up Harding Racing at the end of 2017.
The truth is that Wheldon’s death didn’t cause anywhere near as much change as it should have, and probably would have if it happened now. It showcased the blame-culture within the management at the time, with blame being put on the circuit for a culmination of issues that were mostly in the series’ control, not the track’s. Change was dangerously slowly implemented but that has now altered, primarily and unfortunately due to another tragedy.
Justin Wilson died as a result of injuries sustained at the 2015 IndyCar race at Pocono after being struck by a piece of flying debris that had come off the crashed car of Sage Karam. The report, which was never released to the media like Wheldon’s was, stated that it was a “freak accident”. Since then, front and rear wings have been tethered to the cars, the new universal aero kits were brought in to reduce the amount of flying debris and soon the new windscreen will be brought in, something that many believe would have saved Wilson’s life.
This showed a quick, coordinated and effective response to a tragedy, one that was far from present in the aftermath of Wheldon’s crash. IndyCar, and motorsport in general, has thankfully changed drastically since 2011, with a much greater interest in safety and the prevention of unnecessary risks. But, the sport is, by nature, reactive rather than proactive. It takes an accident for the true danger of something to be seen and the correct preventive measures to be put in place.
Not as much has been learnt from Wheldon’s accident as it should have, but times have changed. IndyCar has woken up to the safety revolution that European motorsport is already undergoing. That change just needs to keep going.
IndyCar has evolved huge amounts over the last decade in terms of safety with numerous crashes and unfortunate tragedies to be learnt from. Development has come for the cars, the tracks and the safety crews but it’s a constant race to keep the stars as safe as possible with speeds reaching in excess of 230mph.
One of the biggest changes to come to the oval races was the introduction of the Steel and Foam Energy Reduction Barriers, more commonly known as just ‘SAFER Barriers’. These first came about, after a number of high profile fatalities, in 2002 when they were installed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway before being retro-fitted to all ovals used by IndyCar and NASCAR by 2006. Since then, the SAFER Barriers have been used at some IndyCar road courses – such as Watkins Glen – where there’s not enough room for sufficient run off given the speed of the cars.
SAFER barrier at the top and the traditional indy car oval barrier on the bottom, at the Indy 500, Indianapolis speedway. Image courtesy of hondanews.eu
Iowa Speedway was actually the first track to have the SAFER Barriers incorporated in the track design, featured around the whole perimeter of the track to reduce the loading on the driver, decreasing the chance of injury or worse.
During the event itself, the AMR IndyCar Safety Team are there for the drivers, should they be in need of their assistance. A dedicated team consisting of three trucks and, in total, twelve personnel, follow IndyCar around for every race of the season, joining forces with the local safety teams at each track. This group are there to focus on the three main areas of an incident – the impact zone with the wall, the place where the car comes to rest (including the driver) and the debris field. The teams will be dispatched to every incident from a simple breakdown to a multi-car wreck and, for 99% of the time, the incident can just be cleared and the session can continue as usual.
It’s that 1% where the problem lies.
One of those such incidents happened on 18th May 2015 during Practice 8 of the Indy 500, the day after qualifying. It was about an hour into the session and James Hinchcliffe was getting some draft practice in before race day when his right front rocker failed. This was a highly unusual failure, when cars have been through huge crashes, their rockers will more than likely be intact but, for Hinchcliffe, that wasn’t the case. The Canadian was left a passenger in his #5 Schmidt Peterson as it ploughed into the wall of the famous speedway coming out of Turn 3 and into Turn 4. From the outside, the crash didn’t look that bad at first, sure, it was a big hit but we see them quite a lot in IndyCar.
However, all was far from well. The piece of suspension that had caused the crash had also puncture the tub and, along with it, Hinchcliffe’s thigh. Worse still, it had hit the Canadian’s femoral artery. This was not good news but, thanks to the quick work of the Safety Team, they managed to get Hinchcliffe out of the car and to the hospital – all with about 90 seconds to spare before his time was up.
Just days after Hinchcliffe’s crash, parts had been added to the rockers on all cars to stop them failing in the same manner and the tubs had been strengthened further to prevent anything from puncturing it.
Once Hinchcliffe had recovered enough to be conscious and talking, his third question was “when can I get back in a car?” which is true testament to the mentality of racing drivers. Return he did, having sat out the rest of the 2015 season, Hinchcliffe was back for 2016 and, incredibly, took pole for the Indy 500, at the track that had so nearly claimed his life the year before.
Another one of those 1% crashes came at the Indy 500 last year when Sebastien Bourdais hit the barriers during his qualifying run. After running pole pace on his first two laps, Bourdais lost control of his car on the third, hitting the wall and causing the tub to break. As a result, Bourdais fractured his pelvis but, thankfully for him, that was the only damage done and he returned to racing just over three months later at Gateway. The consequences weren’t nearly as severe for Bourdais as they were for Hinchcliffe but both their injuries contributed to the all-new design for the 2018 cars.
The biggest change on the new cars safety-wise was the restructuring of the sidepods. They, along with the oil and water radiators, were moved forwards to be ahead of the driver’s hips, providing extra cushioning to the driver in the case of a side impact, such as Bourdais’. Additionally, a wider edge to the base of the sidepod and other modifications means the cars are less likely to go airborne during spins and collisions, as they have been doing in previous years.
Also, the front and rear wings have less elements and the rear wheel guards, along with the winglets, have been removed, all to reduce the amount of potential flying debris in incidents. The design of these cars allows for a cockpit windscreen to be put in place which is where IndyCar is heading next.
While F1 have pushed ahead in developing and implementing the ‘Halo’, IndyCar have been forced to take a different route, primarily because of the ovals and the visual implications to the driver that would surface as a result. IndyCar’s cockpit windscreen has already had a few running’s in tests and practice sessions by numerous drivers, who agree that it takes a while to get used to but does need to be put in place.
IndyCar has a very personal reason for wanting some form of cockpit protection. Back in 2015, Justin Wilson was killed at Pocono when he was struck by a piece of front wing from Sage Karam’s crashed car, it was a fatality that shook IndyCar to the core and the first in the series since the much-loved Dan Wheldon in 2011. Following Wilson’s crash, front and rear wings were tethered to the main body of the car, in a similar way to the wheels, to prevent them from breaking free but the huge loss was all the same.
Over the years, huge changes have been made to all aspects of IndyCar, making the series much safer than before with the crashes acting at catalysts for quick or more long-term changes. However, like any other form of motorsport, there are still changes to be made and, as it was put it perfectly in the documentary ‘Yellow Yellow Yellow: The IndyCar Safety Team’, “you think you’ve got every aspect covered until they figure out another way to crash…”
The Head and Neck System (more commonly referred to as the HANS device) is often overlooked in the world of modern Formula One. Its historical significance, though, should not be underestimated, not least because at the time of its introduction it was one of very, very few occasions in F1’s history up to that point where the FIA had reacted to a non-fatal accident.
Photo credit, Dan Istitene / Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
The accident in question occurred at the 1995 Australian Grand Prix, hosted at the popular Adelaide circuit. At one of the fastest points on the track, a rapid tyre deflation sent Mika Hakkinen – then in his third season in F1 – hurtling into the barriers. The impact was so extreme that his neck hyperextended, his skull was fractured, he swallowed his tongue, and he suffered major internal bleeding. He spent over two months in hospital – a significant amount of that in intensive care – but he eventually made a full recovery and returned to F1 for the 1996 season.
F1 drivers in that era were still sitting very high up in the cars with their shoulders often clear of the chassis, making them extremely vulnerable to head and neck injuries. It was this driving position, mixed with the fact that Hakkinen had nothing supporting his neck, which made his injuries so severe.
The HANS device was already in existence at this point, having initially being designed in the 1980s by Dr Robert Hubbard, but it was too bulky to fit into the narrow cockpit of a single-seater racing car, and he was unable to find sufficient financial backing to complete the necessary redesigns. Hakkinen’s accident, though, made the FIA realise its potential in terms of safety, and they offered to help in and fund its development.
Photo credit, Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team
The HANS device, because of Hakkinen’s accident, evolved into what it is today – a collar-type piece of carbon fibre that fits either side of the drivers’ shoulders, attached to mounting points either side of their helmets by two tethers and held in place by the seatbelts. In the event of a crash, these tethers stop the head from whipping backwards and forwards, keeping the neck in line with the spine and thus preventing it from hyperextending like Mika Hakkinen’s had. In addition, it helps to transfer the energy that would otherwise be absorbed by the head, into the stronger torso, seat, and the belts, reducing the strain put on the head.
Even today, head and neck injuries are still the leading cause of driver deaths regardless of category, and it begs the question just how many potential fatalities were prevented by the HANS device.
Hindsight, though, is a wonderful thing. When the HANS device was initially introduced, it was greeted with a very lukewarm reception. Many drivers claimed that it was cumbersome, uncomfortable, and might even cause more injuries than it prevented. NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt even went so far as to refer to it as a ‘noose’. In a somewhat ironic twist of fate, Earnhardt was killed by a basal skull fracture in 2001, the forth NASCAR driver in the space of fourteen months to die of such an injury, one which the HANS device would have helped prevent.
Photo credit, Paul Ripke / Mercedes AMG
The National Hot Rod Association was the first series to adopt the HANS device, following the death of Blaine Johnson in 1996. In 2002, at the Italian Grand Prix, Felipe Massa became the first man to wear the HANS device during a Formula One race. The next year, in 2003, it became mandatory for drivers in any and all FIA series to wear the HANS device, at the risk of being disqualified from the event should they fail to do so. Some have claimed that Massa’s accident at the 2004 Canadian Grand Prix was the first example of the HANS device potentially saving a driver’s life.
Amid all the talk of Virtual Safety Cars and halos of late, it is easy to overlook the HANS device and the impact it has had on safety in motorsport. Before its introduction, even crashes that did not on the face of it seem that dramatic could end in tragedy. Yes, head and neck injuries may still be the leading fatalities of drivers, but the number of times the HANS device has prevented such an incident from happening is innumerable and worth its weight in gold. It has become a staple of motorsport safety, and in no way should it be taken for granted.
Well, I’ve been here five years. I started out in the customer engineering department, spent a couple of years there, I was working with Nassar Al Al-Attiyah, and we did WRC2 and we won that championship, did a couple of years in the Middle East. I then transferred over to the works team in 2015 and been there ever since. I worked with Elfyn these past years including last year in the D-Mack car and obviously this year as well, so that’s where we’re at really. With the works team, we actually quite a small team, we have a lot of responsibilities, not just the car, kind of spread out to other departments.
Chris Roberts is the furthest from the camera – M-Sport engineer to Elfyn Evans and Dan Barritt / FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Monte Carlo (FRA) – WRC 24/01/2018 to 28/01/2018 – PHOTO : @World
Okay, well the reason for this call is to get a point from the safety aspects of the way the cars are constructed, how you tackle the events, from that safety aspect, keeping everything safe so they can go all out knowing it’s all safe.
Warren Nel
The first question is, in terms of the FIA, what kind of checks do they do on the cars, are there any inspections for the cars, before you enter each year?
Chris Roberts
Yes, the main inspections are during scrutineering at each event, so with the car being homologated the FIA expect you turn up with a design that is homologated, within the safety regulations. As a manufacturer, we actually self-scrutineer before the event.
The event scrutineers and the FIA technical delegate will arrive in the service park and will go to each manufacturer team and they will inspect simple things like fire extinguishers, they’ll look at the cut off switches and they’ll check the safety foam around seat and the doors, side impact structures, just very basic checks, but they expect us to self-scrutineer and present the car in a safe manner. Now one of my responsibilities is to liaise between the FIA and ourselves with regard to what we are going to seal at each event, be it engines, transmissions, whatever it is we are sealing and we present a scrutineering form for each car and that declares that part is safe to start the event.
If you then get caught at post event scrutineering, if that part of the car is found not to conform to the form, there can be penalties. There is a certain amount of trust from the FIA to the manufacturers as we present the car in a safe manner. Now, that is different for a customer team, so anybody who competes as a customer WRC or in the WRC2 or any of the support championships, they don’t self-scrutineer, they are inspected a bit more thoroughly, as I guess they have fewer resources, they maybe are not familiar with the regulations, so they have to present their car to the FIA and pass a series of tests before they start. In that respect, it’s easier for a manufacturer, but a lot goes into it, with homologating the car and so on.
W.N
In terms of the construction of the car, were there many changes to the cars, compared to the previous generation, other than the obvious things?
C.R
Yes, there was a big drive in fact. The main concern from the FIA was looking back to the mid 2000’s, the cars hadn’t really progressed from then to 2015, 2016, so in that ten-year period the safety side hadn’t really developed, so there was a bit of a push from the FIA and also the Global Institute for motorsport safety, which is an independent body that sits inside the FIA. So, going back to when they presented the new regulations in 2015, the FIA came up with a safety road map for the WRC.
The first thing presented to the teams, a proposal for safety enhancements as part of the new for 2017 regulations. Now each car is fitted with an accident data recorder and using statistical analysis they were able to see the highest ‘G’ impacts on the cars could sustain without having any injuries and if there was a threshold above which there were injuries to the crews and then they would work to increase that threshold by improving various aspects of the safety that’s when they started to present a proposal for new equipment, to change the design of the cars that means that incorporated new seatbelts and new side impact, new regulations on seats as well.
That was all the effort to increase the safety. Now the safety road map is something that all the teams are working towards, for 2017 we had to as part of the new regulations, the cars were wider and that allowed us to add 20% extra impact foam and this was in the door the carbon structure along the sill as well. As well as that we were able to introduce new regulations for the fuel tanks and we had to fit a medical light to the windscreen so that in an impact of over 25g the light switches on and any marshal that arrives at the car, if this bright blue light is flashing, then the crew will need medical attention.
W.N
Thinking then during an event, if there is any damage to the car during an event what happens there, obviously you’d try to fix it, but would the FIA come a re-inspect the car before it goes back out?
C.R
If it’s an impact that damages the safety cage, the FIA will want to inspect that. If it’s an impact that we deem we car repair, we’ll have to get the car re-scrutineered again during the rally2 service, plus if it’s an impact that we deem we can’t repair then at that point the FIA remove the seals that are on the body shell and roll cage and then when that shell is repaired and brought back into circulation, it will have to be re-inspected and sealed again.
We always have the FIA technical delegates around and they’ll always be checking if there is any damage to the roll cage. Effectively the roll cage can be damaged and repaired during an event. We can change parts of the roll cage if we need to, but if we do that it has to be with a piece that’s already been pre-inspected at the start of the homologation process to the car, we will present pieces of roll cage that aren’t assembled to the FIA and they will fit seals to them and those will be the only parts we can fit into the car.
W.N
How many pieces would you therefore be transporting to each event?
C.R
Well, I think we carry three full kits to each event, actually and they take up a lot of space. Certainly, since this new generation of car that came in at the start of last year (2017) we’ve never had impacts there, we’ve not needed to replace roll cage parts, but we’ve only had one large accident, which was with Elfyn in Mexico, and in that case the shell had to be completely rebuilt and that car hasn’t come back into circulation yet, so when that does come back in we’ll have to get it re-inspected and sealed again.
W.N
Now thinking of the safety crews that go into the stages, when are they mainly used?
C.R
They are mainly for tarmac events, and each crew has a safety crew and they don’t have to be a qualified person, but they tend to be. Obviously in Elfyn’s respect, it’s his dad, ex-WRC driver Gywndaf and Phil Mills and these guys have a timetable they have to follow when they go through the stages and that can be as close as forty minutes before the stage actually goes live and those guys would call back to the crews and engineering as well and then if they correct the notes they will pass those through the team back to the rally crew.
W.N
Of course, we saw Phil Mills sit in alongside Elfyn after Dan’s concussion which was caused by that high-speed roll during Mexico, so I asked Chris about this.
C.R
It’s something that I feel quite strongly about, I have strong views personally. The issue with the crews, when they get concussion is it maybe that they feel okay within themselves, or they may not feel they have concussion, but say in Dan’s case, he felt ill, he wasn’t sure if he could continue, so in that case the first point of contact between the team and the crew is myself or the car engineer, so it’s possible if you don’t have immediate medical assistance to basically diagnose possible concussion, you can end up with the crew speaking directly to the engineer, I don’t know if we can continue, and for me I think someone who has not qualified and should not have an opinion on medical issues and it shouldn’t really fall to the team or the engineer to make a decision if they should continue or not.
With Dan, it was a case that he felt a bit ill, and obviously didn’t know he was concussed, and we took a view that he had to seek medical assistance, but he did one more stage after the accident, a little super special before coming into service – so he actually went through another stage, a small stage, and the kind that you wouldn’t expect them to have another accident, but because there hadn’t been any kind of medical assistance where he was checked out, it’s possible they could have had another accident there, so for me I think that was a bit of a failing there in the safety system. I think that’s something that needs to be looked at. (Chris made it clear this was his own personal opinion).
M-Sport mechanics hard at work. Photo credit Anna Rudd, M-Sport Ford
Chris also talked about Julian Ingrassia, who suffered concussion last year at Rally Finland.
C.R
They were both side impacts, which were between the head and the seat, which is an area the FIA are looking at, going forward and next year they are bringing in a new helmet standard for Formula One which is supposed to improve safety. We’ve not seen a rally version yet, but the intention of the FIA is back to the safety road map is that will be introduced next year. Hopefully that will reduce these concussions.
W.N
One more question for you then – When the recce is completed, do you sit down with Elfyn and Dan and discuss the stages?
C.R
Yes, we have a team debrief, and debrief just after the event with all the crews together, go through aspects of the cars performance, team performance as well. We’ll also give feedback to the team manager about how the event has been run, tend to do that as soon as possible after the event, so we’ll do that at four or five o’clock, Sunday afternoon.
Then after that we’ll conduct our test for the next event which tends to be a about a week later. Now with Elfyn in the UK, he sometimes comes up to the factory and we’ll sit down in the office and we’ll look at things in more detail, so in that respect it’s quite good that he’s only a few hours down the road, and we can get together and look at some things. Obviously, the relationship between the engineer and the crew is a close one. We are always in constant contact.
W.N
Finally, I asked Chris if there was anything he wanted to talk about additionally.
C.R
Well, we’ve got a few more safety things coming in the pipeline. Things being brought forward by the FIA. One area we’re working on with the FIA is the seat rails, integrating the seats into the bodyshell. We’re looking how these can bend and deform to take some of the impact away from the crew, and this is something which will be introduced for 2020 – that’s the seats themselves, the way they’re anchored into the shell.
For next year we’ll start using the Formula One biometric gloves, so basically the crew will wear these, and they’ll send real time data, actually measure blood oxygen levels, that will be sent to the FIA and the medical crew and if there’s been an accident, particularly an accident where the car has gone off the road and they can’t quite reach the crew, the medical crews will be able to assess the crew without being with the crew and this will be a good advancement.
One final thing which is being brought in is a high-speed camera, which is fitted into the cockpit and this means we can see the impacts and how the body is moving inside the car and that’s something that’s started being used in Formula One and we started testing that, with the intention to bring that in next year.
These are all good steps indeed to look after the crews and Chris said,
Rallying is a living environment, rather than a circuit, so has different safety requirements.
Finally, I’d like to say a big thank you to Anna at M-Sport for being so helpful in arranging this and to Chris a massive thank you for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer my questions.
Look out during this week for more articles from my colleagues about safety in motorsport.
Gosia Rdest – utalentowana Polka jest ambasadorem programu The Girls On Track – Karting Challenge. Gosia także była zaangażowana w tegoroczny Dzień Kobiet zorganizowany przez nas – wywiad można przeczytać tutaj.
Wyścigi, adrenalina, prędkość, wyzwanie, siła, niekończące się treningi, samodyscyplina. Tylko ty i samochód. I maksymalna koncentracja, nieraz przez kilka godzin – serio, czy to wszystko jest dla dziewczyn?
Oczywiście! Jestem pewna, że właśnie taką odpowiedź uzyskalibyście od każdej z blisko setki nastolatek, które wzięły udział w pierwszych eliminacjach do programu the Girls on Track – Karting Challenge, którego mam zaszczyt być Ambasadorką.
Dwudniowe eliminacje miały miejsce w Tychach 26/27 maja, 2018. Przyciągnęły prawie 100 dziewczyn w wieku 13 – 18 lat, które chciały spróbować swoich sił i szczęścia na specjalnie przygotowanym na tę okazję torze kartingowym. Każda z dziewcząt miała trzy przejazdy. Pierwszy testowy, a następnie dwa na czas. To był naprawdę fantastyczny widok móc obserwować dziewczyny rywalizujące z takim zacięciem na naprawdę wysokim poziomie. Każda z nich dała z siebie wszystko, by okazać się najlepszą. Patrząc na nie, nie mogłam powstrzymać się od wspomnień dnia, w którym to mnie Tata zabrał po raz pierwszy na tor kartingowy. Miałam wtedy 12 lat i całkowicie połknęłam bakcyla. Wyścigi do dzisiaj są moją największą pasją i miłością.
Start eliminacji w Tychach
Tor był wymagający, by dać jury możliwość właściwej oceny umiejętności, predyspozycji i potencjału zawodniczek. Oglądanie współzawodnictwa dziewczyn było naprawdę ekscytujące. Ostatecznie, jury złożone z członków Polskiego Związku Motorowego (PZM), wybrało 8 finalistek. Musiało być to bardzo trudne zadanie, bo wszystkie dziewczyny dały z siebie wszystko. Kluczowym czynnikiem, decydującym o wyborze, był oczywiście czas przejazdu. Poza tym, brano pod uwagę generalne predyspozycje i wyczucie przestrzenne. Bardzo ważna była także „rozmowa kwalifikacyjna”, przeprowadzana zarówno w języku polskim, jak i angielskim. Celem było wyłonienie kandydatek, które naprawdę chcą się ścigać, wysoce zmotywowanych i zdeterminowanych, by motorsport odegrał w ich przyszłości dużą rolę. Poziom kandydatek był oczywiście zróżnicowany, ale ogólnie rzecz biorąc, określam go jako bardzo satysfakcjonujący. Można było zauważyć kilka dziewcząt, które wyróżniły się znacznie większą motywacją i potencjałem.
Następna runda eliminacji odbędzie się w sierpniu. Ostatecznym etapem programu jest finał, w którym kandydatki z ośmiu krajów europejskich zmierzą się na słynnym torze Le Mans. To niesamowita szansa. Znaleźć się tam wśród najlepszych z najlepszych z ośmiu państw; ścigać się z nimi; potencjalnie stanąć tam na podium – na absolutnie legendarnym Le Mans; i przywieźć do domu trofeum. Czy to samo w sobie nie jest wystarczającą nagrodą? Prawdopodobnie jest.
Uczestniczka The Girls On Track
Ale razem z Polskim Związkiem Motorowym wierzymy, że dziewczyny powinny zyskać dzięki temu programowi jeszcze więcej – możliwość rozwoju i szlifowania umiejętności, zintegrowania się z grupą podobnych sobie entuzjastek, które razem dowiedzą się więcej o świecie motorsportu. Wyścigi są moim życie, a moje życie jest wyścigiem. Doskonale zdaję sobie sprawę, że nie będę mogła się ścigać całe życie. Jak w każdym sporcie – patrząc długoterminowo – czas nie stoi po naszej stronie. Ale w tym momencie, wyścigi to całe moje życie i robię wszystko co w mojej mocy, by utrzymać taki stan przez jak najdłuższy czas.
Zaczęłam moją przygodę z motorsportem właśnie od kartingu. W 2011 roku, zdobyłam tytuł Mistrza Polski w Kartingu. Następnie reprezentowałam kraj w Polskiej Kadrze Narodowej za granicą. Dzisiaj ścigam się na torach wyścigowych na całym świecie, od Dubaju po Daytonę. W tym sezonie walczę o tytuł w Mistrzostwach Europy GT4. Jest to niesamowicie ekscytująca przygoda, okupiona niezliczonymi godzinami treningów, zarówno na torze jak i na siłowni, ciągłymi podróżami i czasami ciągnącymi się w nieskończoność godzinami oczekiwania na lotnisku. Zawsze stawiałam ściganie ponad wszystko inne. I nigdy nie zamieniłabym tego na nic innego.
Gosia Rdest stawiała pierwsze kroki w kartingu, 2009 rok
Czy idealnie odnajduję się na torze? Czy zrozumiałam naturę bestii? Czy umiem ją poskromić? Do pewnego stopnia tak, choć nadal zdarzają się niespodzianki i momenty, w których nerwy napinają się do granic możliwości. Jak to mówią, „na torze wyścigowym nie ma chwili nudy”. To jest właśnie to, co sprawia, że zmysły nieustannie są wyczulone, wciąż jesteś w maksymalnym skupieniu, a umiejętności u szczytu możliwości. Bo gdy siedzisz za kierownicą samochodu, każda setna sekundy ma znaczenie; i możesz wtedy liczyć tylko na siebie.
Czy pamiętam jeszcze jak to było stawiać pierwsze kroki w kartingu? Oczywiście! Tego się nie zapomina. Nadal pamiętam wszystkie pytania, które mnie nurtowały, a jedyną osobą, do której mogłam się z nimi zwrócić był mój Tata. Nieznana mi wtedy terminologia brzmiała tym bardziej magicznie, że podana w obcym języku. Te wszystkie rzeczy, które z czasem stały się naturalnymi odruchami i sprawami oczywistymi, wtedy takie dla mnie nie były. Miałam i nadal mam szczęście spotykać na swojej ścieżce wspaniałe osoby, które są w stanie mną pokierować i zawsze służą pomocą. Mam szansę ścigać się i uczyć od najlepszych. Przede wszystkim, w moim narożniku zawsze stał i stoi mój najwierniejszy kibic i najlepszy przyjaciel – mój Tata, który jest dla mnie największym wsparciem.
Ale czasami pojawiały się momenty samotności i niepewności, zwłaszcza na początku. To właśnie dlatego, we współpracy z PZM i grupą zaprzyjaźnionych ekspertów, opracowaliśmy 6-miesięczny program treningowy dla grupy finalistek. Składa się z sześciu dwudniowych warsztatów, podczas których dziewczęta nie tylko będą miały okazję poprawić praktyczne umiejętności za kierownicą, ale także poznają specjalistyczne słownictwo w języku angielskim i popracują nad komunikacją interpersonalną, by jak najlepiej móc komunikować się z zespołem i innymi zawodnikami. Przewidziano blok tematyczny o życiu po ściganiu, czyli o profesjach dla tych dziewcząt, które chciałyby związać swoje życie zawodowe z motorsportem, czy to jako dziennikarki sportowe, trenerki, specjalistki do spraw komunikacji w zespołach wyścigowych i nie tylko. Finalistki dowiedzą się o budowaniu relacji w zespole i jak pracować nad swoją motywacją i samodyscypliną. Najbardziej pragniemy, by uczestniczki nie tylko stały się najlepszymi kierowcami, ale przede wszystkim najlepszymi ludźmi.
Bardzo się cieszę, że PZM objął patronat nad akcją; że Rafał Sonik również został ambasadorem projektu, a rzesza innych znanych osób ze świata motorsportu i nie tylko, zaangażowała się we wsparcie i nagłośnienie akcji. Całym sercem wierzę, że jest to wspaniała okazja, by pokazać dziewczynom niezwykły świat motorpsortu i możliwości, jakie przed nimi stoją, by w tym świecie aktywnie uczestniczyć, jeśli nie jako kierowcy, to jako specjalistki w innym dziedzinach. I oczywiście będę trzymać mocno kciuki za naszą polską reprezentację podczas finału w Le Mans!
Gosia Rdest – the talented driver is ambassador of The Girls On Track – Karting Challenge. Gosia also was involved in our International Woman’s day – read our interview with her.
Racing, adrenaline, speed, endurance, challenge, power, endless trainings, self-discipline. Only you and the car. And full focus for sometimes several hours? Truly, is all that for girls?
But of course! This would be, I am sure, the answer that you would hear from any of the almost hundred teenage girls whom participated in the first round of elimination for the Girls on Track- Karting challenge program, for which I have the honor to be the Ambassador.
The two day elimination was held in Tychy on May 26/27,2018. It attracted almost 100 teenage girls wanting to try their skills and luck on the specially constructed karting track for the occasion karting track. There were three challenge sessions. First, the test session and then two more for the best time score. It was spectacular to see the girls go and how fierce the competition was. Each of them truly did her level best to win. Looking at them, I could not help, but to think back to the day when my Dad took me karting for the first time. I was 12 at the time and I got hooked on racing. And it is still my greatest passion.
Start of the qualifying in Tychy
The track was demanding to give the jury the opportunity to truly asses the abilities, skills and the potential of the contenders. It was exciting to watch the girls compete. The jury made up of members of the Polish Motorsport Association (PZM), they selected 8 finalists. It must have been tough because all the girls tried so hard. The key factor was the time of the ride. Considered also were general disposition, spatial orientation and the overall potential of the contenders. There was also one-on-one interview that was carried in both Polish and English which gave the PZM a better understanding of the drivers. The goal was to assess the self-motivation, dedication and determination to make the Motorsport a big part of their future. The level of performance was different, of course, but overall it was quite high. Several contenders demonstrated a significantly higher level of motivation, predispositions and the passion to win?
The next round of the elimination will be held in August. The final goal of the program is for the girls to compete with their counterparts from eight other countries in the European Finals of the program at the famous Le Mans Race Track. This will be an incredible opportunity. To be there with the best of the best from eight other countries; to race with them and to potentially stand on the podium there – at the famous Le Mans; and to bring home the trophy. Would this not be grand? Would it not be enough? Perhaps, yes.
The participant of The Girls On Track
But together with the Polish Motorsport Association (PZM), we believe that there should be something more for the girls in this program that will help them polish and develop their skills, to bond with the group to learn more and to understand more about racing and motorsport. Racing is my life and my life is racing. I know, of course, that I will not be able to race for the rest of my life. As with any sport ? when taking the long-term view ? time is not on our side. But for now, racing is my life and I will do my level best to keep it that way for long time.
I started my car racing adventure with Karting. In 2011, I won the Polish Championship Competition. Later I represented Poland as a member of the Poland?s National Team. Today, I race on race tracks all over the world from Dubai to Daytona. This season I am racing in the GT4 European Championship. It has been, and it is an exciting journey, an adventure that was paid for by putting racing before and above other things; endless hours in training, both on the track and in the gym, countless airplane trips and, what sometimes seem as endless, times spent waiting at the airports. I would not give it up for anything in the world.
Gosia Rdest took the first steps in karting, 2009
Do I know my way around the track now? Do I understand the nature of the beast? Have I tamed it? To some extent, yes, although there still are surprises and nerve wracking moments. As they say there is never a dull moment at the racetrack. But, all in all, this is a part of the wonder, it keeps you focused and on your toes. It keeps your skills sharp and your attention where it needs to be. Because, when you are at it, there behind the wheel, every particle of every minute and every second matters; and you are all that you have to depend on.
Do I still remember, what first steps in Karting was like? But, of course. It is something that you never forget. I still remember all the questions that I wanted to ask and the only person I could turn to ask them was my Dad. The magic terminology that I did not know and then the same terminology even more magic because in a foreign language. The things that were there, and still are, to learn, internalize and make it a part of your natural reflexes and responses. The entire you, as the race driver, that you must develop and keep working on improving it day after day, minute after a minute, a race after a race. I was and am lucky, I met some wonderful people who helped and guided me, had raced with the best and had the opportunity to learn from them, and most of all there always was and is my Dad, my best fan and best friend who is the backbone of my support.
But is does get lonely and scary, especially at the beginning. Therefore, together with PZM and a group of expert-friends, we put a 6-month training program for the selected finalists. The program consists of six two-days hands-on training sessions – during which the girls would not only have opportunities to improve their practical driving skills, but also acquire the critical technical English vocabulary and interpersonal communication skills to communicate with the support teams and to be able to converse freely with their counterparts. There will be a workshop on life after racing, and the professional opportunities for those who would like to make Motorsport their professional life. Just like Motorsport journalism, becoming a personal trainer, or becoming a specialist within the media and Motorsport branding campaigns and many more. They will also learn about team building, developing their personal and interpersonal skills and how to sustain self-motivation and self-discipline. We truly want the girls, not only to be best as race drivers, we want to help them be the best, at what is most important, to be best at being people.
I am very happy PZM has the overall patronage over the program. That Rafa? Sonic has also accepted the ambassador function for this program and that many other well-known persons from the Motorsport, moto-journalism and other professional domains are involved in promoting this program. I believe, with all my heart, that this is a wonderful occasion to truly show the girls what Motorsport is and how many opportunities are in it even for those who do not decide to make racing their life but would love to stay professionally involved with the Motorsport. And of course, I will keep my fingers crossed for our Polish team to be the best, at Le Mans Race Track.
Check out the latest Mobil 1 The Grid latest feature in which Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner previews the Austrian Grand Prix – the home race for the team.
Check out the latest Mobil 1 The Grid latest feature with Red Bull’s Adrian Newey, during which he talks about the team’s switch from Renault to Honda power units for 2019.
You might have seen that I went a bit viral this week, with my commentary of the England v Tunisia World Cup match. However, despite its players’ fine coiffures and fancy footwork, football is not my sport of choice. I much prefer motor racing. I’ve been a big fan of Formula 1 and other motorsport since I was a young child watching battles between Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen. So, what’s the appeal? After all, there’s no diving in F1 (apart from Piquet Jr that one time, perhaps); the largely sub-par haircuts are hidden under helmets (although Marcus Ericsson and Kevin Magnussen are putting in valiant footballer-esque efforts); and, sometimes, the races are undeniably boring (recent visits to Canada and Monaco don’t so much spring, but limp, to mind).
However, some races have more than their fair share of craziness. Two out of three visits thus far to Baku have resulted in bizarre crashes, last-minute drama and surprise podium appearances (Well Done Baku, indeed). Meanwhile, even in less exciting races there’s usually some drama to discuss, whether it’s a first lap clash or a teammate rivalry. Just like football then, not every race is exciting, but there’s usually still something to talk about.
In place of the referee and VAR we have the all-powerful stewards and their sometimes questionable decisions, and there’s just as much fruitless protesting – only we get to hear it. This has given us gems such as “When did I do dangerous driving?” from an aggrieved Sebastian Vettel, who surely must have known that driving alongside, and then into, Lewis Hamilton under a safety car just might be considered dangerous.
Instead of aerial duels we have, well, aerial duels, with more than a few cars being launched into the air over the years. Even when cars don’t make it off the ground there’s plenty of dramatic crashes and clashes. From Grosjean’s repeated trips into the wall this season to the numerous clashes between Force India teammates Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon last season, there’s always material for a heated discussion about who was at fault or how an incident could have been avoided.
From a personal standpoint, this season hasn’t been the most enjoyable for me, mainly because I’m a Williams fan, and, unfortunately, they’ve produced a car so terrible it’s often slower than last year’s model. My second-favourite team, Force India, are going through some testing times as well, with poor results on track and financial problems away from it. They have, however, enjoyed a podium this season, with Perez standing atop the third step at Baku, so that has buoyed my spirits somewhat. However, it’s another reminder that, just as in football, you have to take the lows and the highs with your team of choice, and supporting a team or driver adds another level of emotion and intrigue into the sport.
So, what else might we be missing in Formula 1? Football has their transfer season, and we have ours. Will Fernando Alonso stay or will he go? Will Daniel Ricciardo accept a cool 20 million to drive for McLaren? Will Robert Kubica ever return to an F1 race seat? These questions and more keep discussions interesting even when the racing is not.
So, while my forays into football commentary have seen my tweets go viral, and years of tweeting about motorsport have done nothing of the sort, Formula 1 remains the sport closest to my heart. And while I might watch a few more football matches than I used to, nothing will hold my attention like Formula 1 has done for so many years of my life.
