It is amazing how something has to happen before anything does happen. This is one disastrous weekend in 1994 that shook up Formula One and got safety into high gear as it became a priority.The season had just begun and it was the third race of the season being held at the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola that weekend.
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Rubens was very lucky. See how close the car is to the top of the barrier.
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Friday's practice saw Rubens Barrichello clip a curb sending the car flying through the air and just clipping the tire barriers narrowly missing the fencing behind. He was lucky as another few inches higher and he would have gone through the fencing at over 140 miles an hour. Some spectators and marshal's weren't so lucky as they were hit by flying debris and needed to be hospitalized as a result of the crash. Barrichello was knocked out and received a broken nose and a fractured arm, he returned to the track the following day, but didn't race that weekend again.
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The forgotten man of motor sport Roland Ratzenberger.
The very next day during qualifying Roland Ratzenberger clipped a curb at the Acque Minerali chicane and damaged the front wing. On the next lap he was travelling at 190 miles an hour and failed to negotiate the Villeneuve curve which is a high speed bend sending him head on into a concrete wall. The reason for this accident was wing failure leaving him unable to control the car. His protection cell remained intact, but had suffered a fatal head injury.
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The race day saw the safety car deployed during the race twice. On the first occasion JJ Lehto stalled his Benetton car on the grid and Pedro Lamy ran into the back of him sending car parts into the spectators area injuring 9 people. The safety car came out , two drivers had voiced their concern that the car was far too slow and that it was unsafe as the tires lost heat and thus their grip making it more dangerous. The safety car for this race was an Opel Vectra and after just one lap the safety car was having brake issues and had to go slower than planned. Video footage shows Senna struggling to stay behind the safety car and at one point goes in front of it. Eric Comas and Eric Bernard collided with each other and had to return to the pits for repairs. This becomes another safety issue in a few moments.
After 5 safety car laps the race restarted with Senna in the lead and on lap 7 Senna lost control and hit the concrete wall at Tamburello bend whilst doing a speed in the region of 130 miles an hour. Unlucky for him as the doctors say the ridge on the wall caught his helmet and if it had been 15 cm either way he would have come out unscathed. He didn't have a mark on him with no broken bones, but he had an internal head wound that proved fatal.
The race is flagged and everyone is sent back to the grid. The Larousse crew who were unaware of exactly what was going on released Comas back onto the track. They had been frantically working on the car and were unaware of the crash scene around the track at Tamburello bend. Comas hoping to get back in the race arrived upon the crash scene packed with doctors and medical staff driving in excess of 140 miles an hour. This shook him and kept his silence for over 10 years. It was a close call for everyone at the scene.
Once the scene was cleared and the marshals had given the go ahead the race restarted and on lap 48 of the now 53 lap race Michele Alboreto came into the pits. On leaving the pits his back right tire came lose striking two Lotus and two Ferrari mechanics who needed to be taken to hospital as well.
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After this horrific weekend the FIA had to make some drastic changes. First up was a curve was put into the end of the pit lane to reduce the speeds on exit. Tracks needed to have bigger run off areas so cars slowed before hitting the barriers. Tracks needed to be redesigned entirely and cars needed to be slower and safer. In 1996 with the help of the racing teams the head and neck support device also known as HANS was developed. This would prevent basal skull fractures which had killed Ratzenburger.
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Formula One became a little safer and it is just sad that it had to have some drastic results before anything was done. Drivers had complained about it already and Senna was one of them. I will do another one tomorrow on Senna and Prost who were bitter enemies in the end.