[WRC] News & rumours (part II)

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Originally Posted by Mirek

Another one in a growing row...

Here we had even a petition of crews against mandatory use of HANS (there were no lumbar vertebrae fractures before and than something like two dozens in last few years just in CZ) but as usually without any effect. If someone wants to use it why not but it shall not be mandatory.

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Really. Verey interesting.. I lobbied hard here in Fortress America™ to the corporation that runs one of the series... I said there was ample evidence that people are NOT constantly breaking their necks if one just looks at the popular crash videos from Sweden and Finland...but here it seemed everybody wanted to get HANS---i suspect from the same reason most Americans do everything they do: because they saw it on TV...

Would you have any links to cases in Czecho-land? Is it lumbar or lower back usually? (I have just in last 4 years had 4-5 operations directly related to pounding 35 years ago.... upper then lower spine, new knee, new intake ports in the nose)

I would like to link to cases of fractures...

I personally don't have exact statistics but sure they are available from our drivers association which is trying to make HANS only voluntarily.

It's always lumbar or lower thoratic vertebrae broken as it's in the S shape where the pressure is concentrated if the body is pushed down to the seat. But it didn't happen only here but You can count also Guy Wilks, Dennis Kuipers, Ilka Minor, Pieter Van Merksteijn, Dennis Giraudet and sure others. I think that in these cases it can hardly come to wrong seat, belts, HANS size etc. It doesn't happen only on village level.

I was at one such crash in Rally Kopná. It was a frontal crash into the tree with Clio R3 due to aquaplaning (very good car, originally works one). It wasn't such a big crash. Engine and gearbox were undamaged, just radiator and LF suspension broken. The driver was quite an older guy and not really sporty one but still I witnessed much bigger crashes where no-one got hurt...

I always thought in addition to the appearance of safety Rally America is beholden to insurance requirements that would require HANS. I've followed a lot of those discussions since the cost is pretty high for most US competitors.

Then again, this guy said it was a good thing he was wearing one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh-T4ALk0Sc

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Originally Posted by dimviii

AUTOhebdo.fr | WRC-Fracture lombaire pour Giraudet

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Amazing that he get an injury not on a crash. Considering how many times Novikov has put the car upside down!

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Originally Posted by janvanvurpa

I lobbied hard here in Fortress America™ to the corporation that runs one of the series... I said there was ample evidence that people are NOT constantly breaking their necks if one just looks at the popular crash videos from Sweden and Finland...but here it seemed everybody wanted to get HANS---i suspect from the same reason most Americans do everything they do: because they saw it on TV...

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Likewise John, I have lobbied hard here against officialdom who impose the use of HANS in domestic competition despite over 40 years with no happenings in which the wearing of one would have positively affected the outcome. We've had a number of happenings though in which, had the occupants been wearing the gear, the outcome would likely have been much worse.
In our case it's not a case of competitors seeing it on TV but of regulators missunderstanding the nature and needs of our sport.

I think this is the jump (SS Urria, the big one) where Giraudet hurt his back: Neste Oil Rally Finland 2012 - YouTube

There must be better videos, but this one I found quickly.

Hello to everybody!
I am following this forum for a while but HANS thread forced me to register and write something about injuries caused on the big jumps landing.
I am a professional co driver and had serious back injury ( two vertebra broken, second and third and also broken ligaments on this position). Probably most of you will remember our crazy jumps from Rally Italia Sardegna 2008 on the SS Monte Lerno ( place where I am injured) and NORF 2007 on the SS Palsankyla where my driver had back and neck injuries but no serious like me in Italy ... Car was for that time top Clio R3 from Renault Sport, chassis number 009. I had lot off serious crashes during career before HANS device become mandatory and never had any injury, who knows, maybe I was lucky ...

Milos Komljenovic Italy 2008 Jump - YouTube

Neste Oil Rally -07. Milos Komljenovic - YouTube

Excuse me if I'm wrong but isn't HANS device stand for head and neck support with the purpose of the device to stop the head from whipping forward in a crash. What has this got to do with fractures of vertebrae from heavy landings? I thought it was designed to stop the head from whipping back and damaging the vertebrae in the neck and spinal cord, in a frontal accident?

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Originally Posted by leighton323

Excuse me if I'm wrong but isn't HANS device stand for head and neck support with the purpose of the device to stop the head from whipping forward in a crash. What has this got to do with fractures of vertebrae from heavy landings? I thought it was designed to stop the head from whipping back and damaging the vertebrae in the neck and spinal cord, in a frontal accident?

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yeah that is correct. There are other similar safety equipments as well. I don't know what it is called but i know that Ramona Karlsson use it instead of HANS.

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Originally Posted by BleAivano

yeah that is correct. There are other similar safety equipments as well. I don't know what it is called but i know that Ramona Karlsson use it instead of HANS.

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Technically the device used by Ramona Karlsson (also used by Partick Flodin and Evgeny Novikov this weekend in NORF) is still a HANS (Head And Neck Support). It's called a Hybrid. Hybrid | Facebook

About the injury supposedly caused by Hans devices, i always thought it would be the collarbone ones (which i believe are increasing a lot) when the car takes a front impact, due to the lower part of the HANS pressing on the shoulder when the head moves forward. At least i believe this is how it works as i've never had to test the efficiency of a HANS yet (and lets hope i wont have to :D )