Pierto Fittipaldi Qualifying Crash: WEC 6HR Spa 05-04-18

big crash.

sucks for Pietro, he was scheduled to race the Indy 500 this year. I'm assuming he's out for LM24 now too.

 

Ugh! People are ridiculous - Dale Coyne's PR lady is being bombarded with calls and texts wanting to know if they will still be at Indy, who will be in the car, etc, etc.

 

first I heard of his accident was a tweet from an IndyCar journo speculating on who would get his seat.

 

That's some massive tub damage, don't think I've seen a LMP1 with that level of structural damage in quite some time. Τhe A-Pillar damage was caused by the extraction team. They did the A-Pillar cut first and then did cut in front of the driver. It honestly is surprising that the FIA hasn't mandated SAFER barriers in high-speed zones like that. They've saved a lot of lives on NASCAR and Indycar circuits. He is very lucky that he has broken his legs. It could have been worse.

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It is somewhat remarkable that the front wheels are still attached.

 

Glad he is ok. I'm surprised at the injuries given the deflection angle, hitting the tires and that the car was in fairly decent shape after impact. Makes me wonder about the safety of that car design because at those speeds a contact can be much worse (not hitting double row of tires and hitting at a more direct angle) and I'd hate to see what happens then.

Disclaimer-- I am not criticizing him (I race cars and have been in my share of accidents) and also know that some accidents that look horrific you can walk away from and others that look mundane like (earnharts) can be life ending. This accident was at high speed but I am still surprised that the safety measures in the car and track did not do a better job at protecting the driver. I wish him well and a speedy recovery.