Dicing with death; is Motorsport really the safest it can be?

Today, the sad news that British racing driver Sean Edwards had been killed in a crash in Australia filtered through - another tragic and young life lost to Motorsport. May I extend my condolences and prayers onto the Edwards family, and all those who knew Sean. It is a sad, sad loss.

The news comes days after former Formula 1 test driver Maria De Villota was found dead in her hotel room in Seville, little over a year after her crash in straight-line testing for Formula 1 team Marussia. The crash left De Villota without the use in her right eye, and lengthy treatment after sustaining serious head and facial injuries in the crash in June 2012. Her family and doctors have since confirmed that her tragic death was linked to that crash.

Another British driver, Dario Franchitti, was also involved in a heavy crash during the Houston Grand Prix, fracturing his ankle, breaking two vertebrae and two ribs. The IndyCar driver has since had numerous operations since the incident. These stories also tragically coincide with the anniversary of the death of British IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon two years ago, after a horror collision at the IZOD IndyCar World Championship in Las Vegas.

All of these tragic accidents led to the one question - is Motorsport really safe for drivers?

Motorsport is often considered as the most dangerous sport, with drivers regularly putting their lives and their trust in the hands of their cars and mechanics. There is no doubt that safety has much improved as cars and technology has envolved over the years, with the safety of drivers - in Formula 1 in particular - extremely safe. Formula 1 cars now compared to 20 years ago are much different; for example, the drivers sit much further down in the cockpit of the car, so their head is more protected should a crash occur. The cockpit dimensions are also wider, to aid a drivers escape should he/she crash - we often the drivers removing part of the car to help them get out. The FIA have also made a ruling that all Formula One cars must have a fire extinguisher system in place, automatically spreading foam across the chassis should a fire be detected. If we go back to 1980, it was only then that a permanent medical facility was required at all tracks, and it was only six years later that a medevac helicopter became mandatory at races.

The safety within Formula One can be seen by the fact the last fatality of a driver during a race, was the late Ayrton Senna, during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. Since then, we have seen big accidents; Felipe Massa's crash during qualifying for the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix and Robert Kubica's big crash during the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix just to name a couple. Although serious injuries have been sustained, no fatalities have occured, which is perhaps a testimony to safety in Formula One nowadays. Another example was when Mark Webber completely somersaulted his Red Bull at the European Grand Prix in 2010, yet the Australian walked away from his car relatively unscathed.

Of course, the safety measures are different in other concepts of Motorsport, such as IndyCar, but there is no doubt safety has improved greatly. We should acknowledge that sadly, Motorsport is extremely dangerous and tragedies continue to occur, but we can also acknowledge the lengths manufactuers and governing bodies will go to protect those in the driving seat.


In rememberance of Sean Edwards, Maria De Villota, Dan Wheldon and all those who have tragically lost their lives doing something they love - may they rest in peace.

SPOTY nominees & predictions!

Once again, please accept my humble apologises for the lack of posts recently - second year of university really is hard work & I've been snowed under with the mountain of assignments I currently have! However, it's getting there and I needed a break sooo, here's a new blog post for you guys! 

From news.bbcimg.co.uk

One night every year, BBC Sports Personality of the Year is on - and I love it. If your a massive sports fan like me, this is the programme to watch every year (except I can't this year. WAH.) Everyone is always spectulating and guessing who will be nominated and who will win, and on the 26th of November, the UK found out who had been nominated!

The 12 nominees are:-

1. Nicola Adams - first British female boxer to win Olympic Gold, at London 2012.
2. Ben Ainslie - sailor who clinched his fourth successive Gold medal at London 2012.
3. Jessica Ennis - The London 2012 poster girl who didn't disappoint; swept to Gold in the Hepthalon.
4. Mo Farah - first British long distance runner to win 5,000 and 10,000m Gold at the Olympics.
5. Katherine Grainger - Fourth time lucky for the rower, who finally won Gold at London 2012.
6. Sir Chris Hoy - Two track cycling golds gave Sir Chris a number British record of SIX golds.
7. Rory McIlory - Won the US PGA Golf Championship by 8 shots, then helped Europe's Ryder Cup team retained the Ryder Cup.
8. Andy Murray - finally broke his duck & won the US Open Tennis - also reached Wimbledon final & won Olympic Gold in London.
9. Ellie Simmonds - Won two Paralympics Gold in the pool, and also won a Silver and Bronze. And she's just 18.
10. Sarah Storey - Won four Paralympic Golds in London, equalling a record of 11 golds.
11. David Weir - Had a clean sweep of four gold Paralympic medals at London 2012, giving him a career total of 10 Paralympic medals so far.
12. Bradley Wiggins - First British man to win the prestigous Tour de France, and then won Olympic Gold at the Cycling road time trial.

Can't pick a winner? I know - I can't either! It's fair to say this year has been just purely amazing for British Sport; from the huge success of London 2012, to Andy Murray finally winning a Grand Slam, to our British golfers helping in one of the best comebacks Sport has ever seen to retain the Ryder Cup... Just simply amazing. So many more people could have been nominated for this award too - big names such as Tom Daley and Greg Rutherford all missed out but they will surely receive some credit. If anyone should win Team of the Year then it should be Team GB and Paralympics GB combined - fantastic efforts all round from our British athletes. The shortlist is right this year - I was appalled by the fact people like Amir Khan were included on the short-list yet no women were last year. However, the panel got it right this year. But who will win the big prize?

I've always said when Andy Murray would win his Grand Slam, he'll get Sports Personality of the Year - but it just had to be the year of the Olympics and possibly the greatest year of British sport. He'll certainly have a shot of it however - I don't think many can begrudge his achievements this year. And Sir Chris Hoy - one of the heroes of the Olympics for many years, again delievering the goods for himself and for Britain. All of the nominees do deserve to win it; if only they had multiple awards. 

But I think the main prize will go to Bradley 'Wiggo' Wiggins - to win the Tour de France, one of the most gruelling competitions in Cycling, is outstanding, becoming the first British man to do so and also to then win Olympic gold only a week or so later is a brilliant achievement. And he has the personality - the Mod personality with all the wit and humour - and he made sideburns cool. It'll be close, but I think it has to be Wiggo.

Who do you guys think will win the big prize? Let me know, comment below!

BBC Sports Personality of the Year is on the 16th of December at the ExCeL Arena in London - live coverage will be shown on BBC One.