CART makes new safety requirements

[KC]

In the aftermath of the Zanardi and Gidley crashes last year, CART has mandated an additional bulkhead of carbon fiber be used in the sides of all monocoques to help reduce side impact intrusions. This effectively triples the thickness of the carbon fiber used in the side walls of the monocoque.

[Dr. Austin]

One can only applaud any effort to improve safety. The two perviously mentioned crashes were so monsterous that no car could possibly be expected to hold up, yet they did. While Zanardi was most definately injured severly, it is a minor miracle he is still with us, yet another testimony to the current car's strength. And all Gidly got after smacking a bridge abuttment was a bruised thigh and minor hairline fracture. I'm not sure if he even missed one race because of it.

The cars as they are have proven themselves very damm good. Even with the new regulations, I think it is unreasonable to expect the cars to remain intact through a dead center punch of 220mph like Zanardi survived. That car held up really well with everything considered.



With CART requiring everyone to now wear a HANS device on all tracks, hopefully we can get through the season with absolutely no one getting hurt.