Like a lot of safety equipment in motorsports there is not very much good information out there for the average racer. People are left to interpret the rule book and often spend more time and money on other go fast bits and leave fire safety as an afterthought and doing the bare minimum to get by.
Grassroots Motorsport has on online article on what happened to Charles Espenlaub at the 2010 25 hours of Thunderhill when his car exploded into a giant fireball.
This could happen to any car at the track without even hitting anything. This is why it is important to spend some money and time on installation beyond the required minimums.
Read This - http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/fighting-fire/Some images from the article for the shock effect:
(Note - Cuts in the suit are from the EMT's removing it with scissors)
Here is what the fire looked like:
Read the SpeedTV live blog from the race for more details on the incident:
http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/25hr-thunderhill-live-race-blog/From the GRM article:A month after the incident, Espenlaub’s hands were healing nicely. He was back at the top of the lap charts, too.
Learned Lessons- We at Team MER have always made safety our number one focus, and the unfortunate events of this year’s Thunderhill 25-hour race have been a wake-up call, even for us. We have always strived to use the safest seats, belts, nets and fire systems on the market.
- We have installed these systems with great care while paying particular attention to how easily the driver can operate these systems in the event of an emergency. Our kill switches and fire pulls are always within easy reach, normally right near the driver’s door. The last thing you need to do if a car is burning is reach farther inside the car. Furthermore, a corner worker is more likely to reach the driver’s side first.
- We also make sure the steering wheel is easy to remove and that egress isn’t obstructed. The window net (or nets) should drop away easily. All access to the fuel tank or cell is covered by a sheet metal bulkhead.
- Even with all of these safety measures in place, one of the most heads-up drivers in any professional race still got injured in our car. Here are some of the lessons we learned in analyzing this incident, as well as the solutions we’re implementing to correct them:
- Even with sheet metal panels in place, when a fuel cell explodes the fire will get through. From now on, we will be making sure the panels fit even tighter and have fewer gaps around their edges.
- Clear rubber hose is not okay for fuel filler lines. It’s nice to be able to see if the tank is full, but from now on all our cars will have braided, armored or metal fuel filler, delivery and return lines. Ideally those lines will have properly installed and tested AN fittings on all connections.
- A fire system is great, but if the driver doesn’t know that there’s a fire burning, it’s useless. We believe that Charles drove around for quite a while with a small fuel fire burning around the fuel tank. From now on, all our cars will carry a second 5-pound fire bottle dedicated to the fuel tank and fitted with automatically triggered nozzles. This should help knock down any fuel fire as soon as it ignites. We are working with our fire system supplier to create a warning light so the driver knows the system has been discharged.
- Accurately aiming the fire system nozzles is critical. We are going to take extra care so that all nozzles are pointed in the correct direction. Our new standard placement will have one in front of the driver, one behind the driver, and a third inside the engine bay. The fourth nozzle will be the dedicated, automatic nozzle on the fuel tank.
- Even on stock cars, the driveshaft needs to be tethered. We are going to install driveshaft loops on all cars, no matter how mundane the machine. Upon final inspection of the car involved in the incident, the driveshaft didn’t fail as reported online. Once the car was stationary, the fire caused the driveshaft to explode. Nonetheless, it’s a reminder that a loose driveshaft can immediately become a safety concern.
- Our cars will be safer thanks to these enhancements, but the foundation comes from choosing the right safety gear, always wearing it—underwear and balaclava included—and having a plan for escape. Just as in driving, there is no substitute for practice. Time yourself when exiting your car, then see how much you can reduce that time.
Just doing the practice exits may identify some weak points in your strategy; try correcting them to make your exits quicker and smoother. We hope that everyone can learn from this incident so we can all make our race, practice and track days a little safer.—Jason Saini, Team MER
For a good guide on driving suit buying click these images for a scan from SCCA's Sports Car Magazine.
Stay safe and if you have any questions about your safety gear be sure to contact the manufacturer for help and advice!
