SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1186466
SAFETY REALLY SUITS YOU Stand 21 Foundation President Yves Morizot and Foundation Director Don Taylor discuss the needs for improved fire protection in off-road motorsports By Dan Sanchez Photos Courtesy Stand 21 Safety Foundation At the SCORE Baja 1000 Exhibit, during the 2019 Lucas Oil Off-Road Expo, the Stand 21 Safety Foundation Racing Goes Safer Demonstration was held in front of a large crowd of show spectators, SCORE racers and teams, as well as other motorsport industry personalities in attendance such as Porsche Motorsports’ consultant Alwin Springer, 2018 Formula Speed Champion Courtney Crone, and Eibach Springs owner Wilfried Eibach. Stand 21 Foundation President Yves Morizot and Foundation Director Don Taylor, began by pointing out the need for improved fire protection for off-road motorsports events, starting with driving suits. Taylor and Morizot explained how a multi-layer fire suit offers more time in a fire situation and the dangers of sewing on multiple patches and wearing nylon t-shirts or apparel with any type of metal fasteners can do to your skin in a fire. The importance of Nomex underwear was also brought up in how it can add more protection and time which can be critical in an emergency, as well as the importance of covering up everything in fire retardant material, including hands, feet, and ankles. With a good helmet and high-quality visors, hair and your face can also be protected. To demonstrate how a properly covered race driver can survive until fire crews arrive to extinguish the flames, a video was played to the audience featuring Sebastien Labie fully engulfed, as the multi-layered racing suit and the addition of Nomex underwear kept him safe for several seconds. Heat Stress And Head Protection Key safety factors in off-road racing include dealing with heat in desert terrain. Morizot and Taylor also stressed the importance of staying hydrated and selecting woven driver suits that allow evaporative cooling. He also discussed why head restraints are crucial for limiting high G-forces and suggested to think of your brain acting like gelatin, in regards to what happens during impacts. The severity can cause concussions and even when using a HANS system, Taylor recommended wrapping roll-bar tubing with SFI 45:1 spec padding. Helmet removal after a crash is also critical, as it can aggravate neck or back injuries, and suggested wearing head balaclavas to make removing helmets easier. While there are many more aspects to safer off-road racing that needs to be discussed, Taylor and Morizot covered many of the most important within the one-hour demonstration. Their parting thoughts to the audience was to think beyond simply meeting the safety rules and regulations of any racing sanctioning body, and getting through tech inspections. They urged the audience to realize that sanctioning body rules are only the minimum requirements for safety and that racers and teams should go beyond that and research how to best protect yourselves and loved ones within a sport that we also love just as much. SJ