Thread: WEC 2017 WEC Season
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Old 5 May 2017, 06:38 (Ref:3731132)   #416
Akrapovic
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Originally Posted by chernaudi View Post
The ACO have issued a clarification on their medical light system: for now, it's advisory/being evaluated, but it's primarily the ACO doctor's discretion as to if a driver should continue.

However, that raises in my mind as many questions as answers, like what should the ACO do in a situlation where there's a high G impact, but the car is clearly drive-able and the driver is clearly OK? I'm thinking Loic Duval for example at LM in '15. He was clearly uninjured, and the car in drivable shape, but I can imagine the light getting triggered just because he spun into the barriers at 190+mph.

Personally, I think that the medical light has more to do with an FIA/ACO concussion protocol than the likelihood of back, neck, or other traumatic injuries, including those with delayed reponses, such as Allan McNish fainting from a concussion at LM '04 after he drove his Audi back to the pits (ironically the same thing that the medical light is intended to prevent/discourage), or the internal injuries that Allan Simonsen died from a few years ago.

Granted, I think that the argument can be made that if the car is movable under it's own power unassisted, a case can probably be made that the driver faired much better than the car. If the car is crippled or stopped, then I think it's fair for the medical personnel to make a judgement. This also isn't like NASCAR (until this season), as the ACO has a traveling safety team with the same main people in it that attend every race.
When the light gets triggered, race control are either informed through an automatic system, or the marshalls will radio saying the light has come on. At that point a doctor in a course vehicle is dispatched. When the doctor is on site, they will make the call whether or not the driver is allowed to continue. So in the case of the driver being clearly uninjured, the doctor will say it's fine to continue.
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