Safety Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Bubba Wallace began Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a Stage 1 win. However, things went straight to hell on the 94th lap that eliminated himself and two other drivers. In an intense battle for fifth, Kyle Larson went low and made it three wide on Wallace and Kevin Harvick. Larson moved up the middle in Turn 3 when the heat of the contest began to escalate. As the trio entered Turn 4, Larson got sideways and tangled with Wallace. As aRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Joey Logano needed some luck on his side to get a strong top-five effort in the race-shortened Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. That’s because during the near two-hour red flag due to rain, problems arose, resulting Logano to serve a two-lap penalty. One of the crew members of his No. 22 Autotrader Ford Mustang took a picture of the car under the rain delay. That’s because Logano knew there was a piece of rubber in the linkage. It created a safety concernRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Haas F1 Team reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi is set to make his Formula One debut at the Sakhir Grand Prix, filling in the for Romain Grosjean, who is recovering from burns sustained at the Bahrain Grand Prix. As a result of Monday’s announcement, Fittipaldi – grandson of two-time F1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi – will become the first third-generation driver to compete at a grand prix event. The 24-year-old Miami-born Brazilian has a unique racing background, which includes winning the 2017 Formula V8 3.5 championship, whereRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer In a time period where the world of American open wheel racing pushed the confines of danger, a series of life-changing accidents were always common. When certain accidents happen, action must be taken to prevent serious injuries or even death. It was the main focal point of the upcoming documentary Rapid Response, and right away you’ll get that feel as to why the professionally staffed safety team came to be. Without a shadow of a doubt, this documentary takes you on a dramatic trip to theRead More

By FIA The FIA has released a new top-end helmet standard that will bring about increased protection for racing drivers in all major championships. This follows over a decade of research to create the ultimate standard for helmet manufacturers to meet to further increase safety. The latest standard, called FIA 8860-2018, outlines the design and performance requirements that the helmet manufacturers must achieve to provide equipment for the FIA’s top series. It will be mandatory for Formula One from 2019 and in other championships soon after. These new helmets willRead More

By FIA It’s strong enough to support the weight of two African elephants and sturdy enough to deflect a large, full suitcase at a speed of 225kph. So how is motor sport’s new Halo device made to withstand such forces? It all starts with titanium. Lots of titanium. “We had to buy about 10 tonnes of high-strength titanium within one-and-a-half months, and receive it all in time and in perfect quality,” says Steffen Zacharias of Germany’s CP Autosport, one of the three manufacturers chosen by the FIA as official suppliersRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor IndyCar has increased the minimum weight for both the super speedway and road course/short oval trims for the universal aerokit equipped cars in 2018, according to RACER.com. The weights, which exclude driver, fuel, drinking bottle and ballast have gone up by 10 pounds in each trim and are now 1,620 pounds for the road course/short oval trim, and 1,590 pounds for super speedway trim. The move is due to the new safety measures introduced for the coming season, specifically more robust zylon anti-intrusion panels for theRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor IndyCar officials are close to producing an aeroscreen for the new 2018 IR12 bodywork with the goal of testing the device this fall. The screen will be similar to the aeroscreen concept Red Bull pushed for in Formula One and the shield concept that Sebastian Vettel tested during practice for the British Grand Prix. Speaking to Racer, Tino Belli IndyCar’s Director of Aerodynamics said that a prototype is due to be produced soon, after extensive CFD work and testing with Dallara’s simulator. “First and foremost, thereRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor After revealing the findings from Fernando Alonso’s massive crash in the season opening Australian Grand Prix, the FIA has announced its intention to introduce a system of biometric testing to further understand future crash data in order to make the sport safer. The findings show that when Alonso’s McLaren made intial contact with the Haas of Esteban Gutierrez he was traveling at 305 kph, and once the front suspension collapsed the ensuing impact with the wall hit a peak of 45G’s. The barrel rolling that followedRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor The FIA is on the cusp of greenlighting the halo for F1 in 2017. The news comes on the heels of a meeting of the technical regulations working group which is in favor of Ferrari’s halo solution over Red Bull’s competing aeroscreen due to time constraints on the teams and the ease with which the halo can be added to the already well in progress 2017 designs. It is highly likely that the halo will be a stop-gap while an aeroscreen or canopy solution is workedRead More