Tethers Really Works !

[Bononi]

Altough we had a tragedy this sunday, I think something might be said about the effiency of tethers in the wheels:

Anyone who has seen the video of the JV's onboard camera, can see how the front left wheel smashed violently towards JV's head, but it was contained by the tethers. I saw the video many times and I have no doubt, if that wheel kept his way through, the story of this race would be more disaustrous.

Your opinions please.

[F1FansClub]

The teathers will never work for most of the big crashes in F1 but I find it amazing that it did for at least one of JV's wheels! Any ideas where I can get this in car view cos I have certainly ever seen it!

Ally

[Sparky]

http://f-1.sovintel.ru/01/melbourn/melb4.html

[Bononi]

JV said : "It was big, it was serious"
That's true, sad true.

[Liz]

Atlas F1 says he has checked himself into the hospital complaining of back pain and bruises. I expect he is suffering from shock too, and probably other things. This is probably going to help him to be away from the press until he feels better so he doesn't say anything he will be sorry for later - out of stress or being pressured.

Any word on the other people that were injured?

[slipstream]

News reports are that the injuries received by the spectators were not serious.

I think that the success or otherwise of the wheel tethers has to be taken on face value. Sure, they might not have stopped the wheels falling off Burties car and lots of people have been commenting on this. But if they did save JV then they must be seen as a success. It is impossible to overcome the forces involved in a crash in all circumstances.

[Bononi]

It proved to be succesfull at the first impacts, wich means that it is functional at most car crashes. But the forces gone after all have gone blast, the danger is 5the same.
We can clearly see that after the impact in the wire off the track, the wheel was still chained, but when the car hit the ground, the tethers were broke and the wheel ran free. Worst of all that it had the part of the bar suspension, and (sadly) I think that it was the wheel that kill the marshal.

[redback]

I have seen several junior formula open wheel accidents where the wheels have come off the car. In most of these cases the wheel has hit something very hard (like a conrete wall) and has either punched the centre out of the wheel or smashed the upright away from the pickup points.

I have not seen how the F1 tethers are attached but basically if the hub/axle comes away from the upright or the tether mounts sheer off the upright there is nothing else that can be done. How can you attach a tether to a rotating object? The real time sound and vision of JV's accident showed the ferocity of the impact. I haven't got the race on tape but I was wondering if the wheel on JV's car went through the gap in the fence and caught the fence post causing it to sheer off. If the tethers have saved JV (or any other drivers since their inception) they have done their job.

[Crash Test]

I don't know if anyone can remember back to a Michigan 500 where a wheel came away from a car in a crash, bounced down the track, and hit Parker Johnstone in the head...but he kept on racing.