Video of fireball crash in V8 Supercars shows importance of proper fire safety gear

[thetunersgroup]

http://www.tunersgroup.com/images/large/large2272.jpg

In this weekend's round of the Australian V8 Supercars at Barbagello Raceway, a startline crash saw Karl Reindler's car engulfed in a massive fireball.

Though Reindler of course was wearing the proper fire resistant safety equipment, the video also raises a very important issue that requires comment ...

Lately we have been seeing more and more videos online of amateur drivers on track at various track events not wearing fire resistant gloves (many not wearing any gloves at all), and some not wearing fire resistant racing suits. Frankly every time we see footage of someone tearing around a racetrack without the full compliment of fire resistant safety equipment, we cringe.

Remember that Reindler suffered burns to his hands and face even with the proper safety equipment, so imagine how much worse his injuries would have been without that equipment.

Proper fire resistant safety equipment must be worn every time you are on the racetrack. Period.

Click here to view the full article about this important safety issue and to watch the video of the crash ...

http://www.tunersgroup.com/TunerWire_Live/reindler_fire.html

- The Tuners Group

[9000RPM]

saw this crash earlier today, crazy...

the driver is very fortunate to have escaped with such minor injuries, and no doubt the safety gear he was wearing helped substantially.

stay safe on the track guys :)

[thetunersgroup]

The incar footage of the crash from both cars has now been released, along with an interview with Reindler about what it was like in the car, and Mark Larkham's analysis in the pits of the damage to the car.

All the videos are on one page here ...

http://www.tunersgroup.com/Videos/reindler_fire.html

- The Tuners Group

[munkaii]

Whenever I tell people about the clothing requirements of Wakefield etc. they cringe when they find out that the only real requirement is long sleeves + helmet. Maybe it is time racetrack locations start hiring out racing suits?

[thetunersgroup]

More detail has been released about the size of the impact.

Speedcafe's article here ... http://www.speedcafe.com.au/2011/05/02/car-of-the-future-to-reduce-risk-of-fire/ reads ...


"Morris says the team may put together the team’s spare chassis for the May 20-22 event.

“We’ll get it home and pull it apart. We’ve got a new chassis there, but we’ll go through all the bits and start putting it back together,” he said.

“The hit was pretty square on. We won’t know until we get it back to the workshop, but all of the running gear has obviously copped a whack. It broke the crank, the gearbox, right through to the differential.

“The hit was 37G ... ”"

37G's is a massive amount of force. That it broke the crank is evidence of how big the hit was.

The video with Mark Larkham's analysis of the damage is a real eye opener. It's the third video on this page ...

http://www.tunersgroup.com/Videos/reindler_fire.html

- The Tuners Group

[9000RPM]

the new rule regarding the repositioning of the fuel tank is a great move.