Panasonic Toyota Racing Presents Formula 1 Car for Safety
Training
Tsutomu Tomita, Chairman and Team Principal of Panasonic
Toyota Racing, today presented a TF105 show car to the FIA
Institute at the inaugural FIA Institute Safety Summit at
the Paul Ricard circuit.
The F1 car presented by Toyota will be a tool for the FIA
Institute’s international extrication training programme
for medical and safety officials working in single-seater
racing.
The TF105 car will be used to improve techniques of driver
extrication following accidents, and has been specially modified
with a jig fitted to allow the FIA Institute to easily roll
the car upside down, while the roll hoop camera has been removed.
It features a modified driver’s seat to fit a crash
test dummy into the cockpit and a dummy steering wheel. Instead
of an engine, a steel frame has been included in the rear
to simulate the size and weight of a Formula 1 engine. The
car features Bridgestone tyres and Takata safety restraints
in line with Toyota’s 2007 specifications.
Tsutomu Tomita, Chairman and Team Principal of Panasonic
Toyota Racing said: “I am very pleased to be able to
hand over this car to the FIA Institute and contribute to
the future of safety in Formula 1. Safety is very important
to us and we will do whatever we can to help the FIA and the
FIA Institute in their work to make Formula 1 and motorsport
in general safer.
“The FIA Institute is conducting very important research
which will be of enormous benefit to drivers throughout motor
sport and we have no hesitation in contributing to their effort.”
Professor Gerard Saillant, Deputy President of the FIA Institute
said: “We are grateful for the support that the FIA
Institute has received from Toyota in helping us to achieve
our safety training objectives. The generous donation of an
F1 car will help to enhance the training of motor sport safety
officials.
“We are also grateful to Toyota for sharing their approach
to safety with us in our conference sessions. The level of
knowledge and experience of all our guest speakers promises
a very hig this our first Safety Summit.
“We look forward to welcoming our guests at the Paul
Ricard Circuit which is appropriately the first recipient
of our coveted Centre of Excellence Award.”
The formal hand over was followed by the opening session
of the FIA Institute Safety Summit, including statements and
presentations by FIA President Max Mosley; Chairman and Panasonic
Toyota Racing Team Principal Tsutomu Tomita; WilliamsF1 driver
Alex Wurz; President of the IOC Medical Commission Dr Patrick
Schamasch; President and CEO of the Paul Ricard Circuit Philippe
Gurdjian; Senior Medical Advisor for the Superbowl Dr Ricardo
Martinez and Jean-Philippe d’Hallivillée of the
Paris Saint-Germain football club.
Delegates at the Summit, which is chaired by FIA Institute
Deputy President Professor Gerard Saillant, include representatives
of the Grand Prix Drivers Association, senior representatives
of racing and rally teams, manufacturers, promoters, circuit
administrators and officials, medical practitioners and motorsport
safety equipment manufacturers from across the world.
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