In the past two days & with two major crashes, of first the Toomas Heikkinen's Fiesta onto the landing ramp and yesterday Marcus G...
In the past two days & with two major crashes, of first the Toomas Heikkinen's Fiesta onto the landing ramp and yesterday Marcus Gronholm's crash into a concrete structure after landing the jump, has left many other drivers who are lined up for the competition thinking twice! They are doubtful on the safety part of the track, especially the Gap Jump.
Here is a clip of the Topi's Fiesta crashing onto the landing ramp. However Topi only suffered a fractured ankle in this crash, whereas the car took much of the beating.
In Gronholm's case the front suspension of the car broke after landing the 'great' jump and he went sliding and hit a concrete structure on the driver's side. The car spun & came to a sudden halt after the impact knocking the driver unconscious due to the impact. It was severe, no less than Topi's crash.
Marcus had to be pulled out cutting opening the top off. He was shifted onto a stretcher and moved to Hospital in an unconscious condition, later told by the Ford Racing team that he is awake and out of danger.
Wishing the duo a faster & full recovery!
Now coming to the construction of the Gap Jump ramp, the question is on the safety and design aspects of the structure. We all saw a impact padding that was present in the previous round 17, which was absent here. It would have minimised atleast Topi's impact for sure, if not for Gronholm's! Hope the ramp design engineers correct any error or take preventive measures further and not stick to the seats claiming it to be perfect and putting the blame onto the drivers and teams!
However the ERT were pretty quick in assisting the crashed cars & drivers.
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