: When you see this happen to a top driver, alone on the track for a
: qualifying run, you wonder how 33 drivers possibly circle this
: old track at 220 to 230 MPH.

Jeff,

A couple of things about this crash. When this crash happened (now when something happens like this it is shown on big TV screens all over the track) everything stopped and everybody gasped. Bourdais is one of the greatest drivers in the world and has been for a long time. He is also one of the best guys in the paddock. He drives for the least wealthy team in the paddock and was near the top in series points standing. He had turned the fastest laps in practice.

The way he hit the wall was about a brutal as it could possibly have been...straight on at about 230mph. Nobody thought he would live through it. Our safety team was to the car in 11 seconds. Our full time every race safety team is the best in the world bar none. F1's is probably not even second rate. They got him to one of the best trauma centers in the world in a few minutes. He will live and walk again because the car he was in has safety features including Kevlar in critical points so that suspension parts can't penetrate the tub. He hit a padded "safer barrier" which was developed at Indy and is now a feature of tracks around the world.

After all of this he woke up from surgery the next morning and told his team owner that he wanted to be ready to race the last race of the year at Sonoma in September...probably not going to happen but....

JohnCote