Kartracer47 wrote:
Late to the discussion but have questions I have not seen asked. What injuries did the passenger have and why was there a difference between passenger and driver?
JMR
JMR,
I incurred a slight fracture T2, a pretty nasty fracture in T10, a compression fracture in T11 and a burst fracture in T12.
My theory as to why I was hurt and the passenger wasn’t is this; the front and rear suspension were intact and fully functional on the right side of the car, thus cushioning the impact somewhat on that side of the car. After going airborne, the car impacted the ground slightly nose down. With the LF suspension torn away, there was nothing in that corner of the car to cushion the impact. As the car made contact with the ground, the energy transfer from the front of the car to the rear was extremely aggressive and literally slammed the rear of the car into the ground.
In determining why I was hurt vs. my passenger, other factors should also be considered. I was wearing a HANS, my passenger wasn’t. The HANS allowed my neck and head to move forward only so far where as my passenger’s head and neck were thrust forward and downward (this is evident in the video) which allowed his spine to bend and absorb the initial shock much more so than mine. Being that the impact with the ground was both horizontal and vertical, the HANS did what it was designed to do for the horizontal impact (the car striking the ground nose first—this happened at 47mph). However, during the vertical portion of the impact (the rear of the car being slammed aggressively to the ground), the HANs may have worked against me. Having said that, I still advocate the use of a HANS while on track.