Craig Breen

[seb_sh]

Even if the comparison is very imperfect because of the penetrator cross section I'll go back to the pistol bullet. It has an energy equivalent to a WRC car moving at only 2 km/h but it can penetrate 4 mm of steel. A car moving at 20 km/h has 86x more energy. What You propose would help just a little and it would bring about 20 kg weight in places which are inconvenient for the vehicle performance.

Not saying it's not a fair point however surface area and materials matter too. A bullet is a concentrated mass made out of a relatively strong material. A piece of wood even if it's sturdy is not the same.

If they were to enhance the protection I suppose they would go from something carbon based instead of heavy metals. Circuit cars have such "survival cells" which are subjected to several tests including intrusion tests. F1 helmets are bulletproof exactly to protect against intrusion. Obviously a rally car is different but I'm sure they could do better.

Maybe it's too expensive for WRC but better is always possible.

[Steve Boyd]

What I'm getting at is that a rally car collision at relatively low speed, side-on with a wooden fence, should not lead to the death of the driver.

But they all seem to just have accepted that it's ok...

It came through the window.
There isn't a simple solution in the vehicle design so maybe they need to look at the roadside and either change the roads used or build protection on roadside hazards.
This is what they do on the Isle of Man for the TT races:
https://c7.alamy.com/comp/TRNXG9/a-r...hay-TRNXG9.jpg

[Steve Boyd]

I don't mean a metal sheet in the door, I mean a 2mm metal plate welded to the rollcage.

Why metal?
They make bullet proof vests from carbon and kevlar fibres, not steel sheet.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

I wonder if the follow-up to this fatal accident wouldve been different if it had happened during a live WRC rally and not in a test ? Would there have to be a more official investigation as it was in an event ?

Also, if we accept that the car (side window) cant be made any safer from penetration, how about the drivers own personal safety equipment ? F1 and other sports are continually improving them, like in cricket where batsman's helmets now have the back of the neck protected following a fatality when one was struck by a ball at 90mph+...

https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/66805723

[Steve Boyd]

I wonder if the follow-up to this fatal accident wouldve been different if it had happened during a live WRC rally and not in a test ? Would there have to be a more official investigation as it was in an event ?

There would certainly have been a full FIA investigation. I'm not sure that happened in this case.

Also, if we accept that the car (side window) cant be made any safer from penetration, how about the drivers own personal safety equipment ? F1 and other sports are continually improving them, like in cricket where batsman's helmets now have the back of the neck protected following a fatality when one was struck by a ball at 90mph+...

If it had been at an event there may well have been better protection of roadside furniture than for a manufacturer's test. In any case, looking at that incident, and the other video posted on this thread where a car went through a wooden fence, it would appear that wooden fencing is a lot more hazardous that you might expect.

[CeskyOndra]

Can't believe that tomorrow (13th April) is now 1 year without this great man..

[Eli]

On this date last year we lost a huge chunk of our sport & community’s heart, I wish it never would’ve happened in the first place.
I miss him in every rally he’s not competing, and it feels like a part of the WRC is dead since he’s been gone.
R.I.P Craig
#For_Breen

[SubaruNorway]

It's something missing on events for sure
https://youtu.be/CSvI-Xl7b0M

[Managarium]

[Fast Eddie WRC]

One year on and still no official report on the accident as Hyundai & FIA announced was to take place.

https://m.sundayworld.com/news/irish...060339143.html