Thursday, October 29, 2009

BREAKING NEWS: SCHROTH Racing in a new class - HANS GT



SCHROTH Racing announces the release of a brand new series of HANS device, the HANS GT and an extension to their current range.

Continuously striving to offer their customers the best technology and the best prices SCHROTH Racing have produced the new HANS GT which does just that! The HANS GT is a major development in affordability and performance, offering customers a high performance, lightweight design at low cost. The HANS GT incorporates all the key features of the PRO version including SlipStop and Vision advantage (sliding tether) and is only 200gms heavier than the carbon PRO.


The HANS GT line from SCHROTH Racing offers an exceptional blend of carbon fibre and Glass fibre Technology (GT). Starting at around 700g the HANS GT is 400g lighter than the entry-level Sport models and just 200g heavier than our PRO line. The HANS GT is the perfect balance of high-tech and cost savings!

The new line of HANS GT from SCHROTH Racing are designed on the proven shape and forms of
their PRO Systems as tried and tested in the lab and on the track. The newest versions of the HANS GT includes a 20° Medium and 20° Large as well as a 30° Medium for the majority of drivers and one additional model in the works for early 2010 will be a 10° Medium.

New for 2010 SCHROTH have also launched new sizes of their existing range to suit a wider variety of drivers. These include a 20° Small, a 20° Extra Large.

Overview of features of the entire SCHROTH HANS product line for 2010 include:

HANS Pro - HANS GT - HANS Sport
* Vision Advantage Plus Sliding Tether System - Standard on ALL HANS.
* Patented SlipStop™ Plus contact surface on PRO and GT; retaining winglets on Sport
* Proven comfortable shapes to fit all types of drivers and seating positions
* Wide range models (10°M, 20°S, 20°M, 20°L, 20°XL, 30°M, 30°L, 40°M)
* Free carrying bag to protect your HANS
* Interchangeable Padding System (Foam and Gel padding kits available)

Click here for more info
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Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Rally Crash - Thumbs up for HANS!

After years of circuit racing and rallying, whilst running 3rd fastest overall on day 2 of 5 on the 2009 Targa Newfoundland Rally, my first event using the
HANS device you guys supplied, it happened! We left the road at approx 90mph and did some kind of end over end with a few rolls to end up 300ft in the Bush. Apart from my Navigator’s broken arm we both walked away without any other issues which can only be attributed to the Schroth HANS Device used in conjunction with the correct Harnesses and Sparco Pro ADV Lateral Head Restraint Seats. I’m 100% sure it would have been a very different outcome without the HANS! Thanks for all your help, support and up to date knowledge when the decision was made to purchase HANS Devices for the team, I’ll never get in a race car again without it, it saved us for sure!

Thanks
Roger Tillotson

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Monday, October 12, 2009

Ecclestone pessimistic about Donington


Bernie Ecclestone now doubts that Donington Park will be ready in time to host the 2010 British Grand Prix even if the circuit bosses can secure the required funding package.

Donington had been given until the end of this week to prove to Ecclestone that it had the finance in place to complete the comprehensive rebuild required to host Formula 1 next year.

The F1 commercial rights-holder hinted that he had not written off the circuit completely at this stage - replying "wait until Monday to write the truth" when asked by the Daily Telegraph if the latest deadline had been missed.

But he admitted that he was now very pessimistic about Donington's chances.

"It's not good, is it?" Ecclestone told The Times. "Even if they get the money, I cannot see how it will all be ready in time to go.

"It is very disappointing because we thought it would happen, but they cannot go on missing deadlines.

"They could still come to us saying they have the money, but there is no way the circuit would be ready at this late stage. It looks as though we will have to start planning again."

Donington has a 17-year deal to hold the British GP, but needed to make substantial changes to its infrastructure, access, and paddock facilities as well as redesigning the circuit to feature an additional infield loop. This work began earlier in 2009, but is a long way from completion and has been delayed by both planning and financial issues.

Ecclestone had initially been adamant that Donington was the only option for the British GP's future, but he has since indicated that present home Silverstone would be allowed to step in if Donington was not ready.

Next year's British GP is provisionally scheduled for 9-11 July.

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End of the road for Donington?

The fate of the British Grand Prix lies in the balance as yet another deadline passes at Donington where Simon Gillett is unable to demonstrate how he will fund the redevelopment of the circuit due to host the event from next year.

Friday saw the fourth - or fifth, depending on your point of view - deadline come and go, leaving Bernie Ecclestone to tell the Press Association: "We will see what happens on Monday."

However, talking to The Times he admitted: "It's not good, is it?"

"Even if they get the money, I cannot see how it will all be ready in time to go," he added, a view shared by many. "It is very disappointing because we thought it would happen, but they cannot go on missing deadlines. They could still come to us saying they have the money, but there is no way the circuit would be ready at this late stage. It looks as though we will have to start planning again."

Speaking at this year's event, when asked what would happen should Donington be unable to meet its commitments Ecclestone said that Silverstone would host the 2010 race. However, Damon Hill, president of the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) which owns Silverstone has since said that he doesn't want to see the Northamptonshire track used as a stop-gap.

Gillet and his company Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd have faced all manner of problems ever since the deal was first announced, ironically, at Silverstone on the Friday of the 2008 British Grand Prix. Other than finance, there have been various legal and planning issues, not to mention the global economic crisis.

Nonetheless, Gillet has constantly insisted that all was well, that money would be in place, targets would be met and that the future of F1 in Britain was assured, though many have been sceptical from the outset.

Debentures, one of the main ways in which Gillet hoped to raise the required £120m in funding, might work for the All England Club in terms of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, they might work for Arsenal Football Club (ugh!), Wembley Stadium, the Millennium Stadium and Twickenham, but there was never any guarantee that the system would work for Donington. Not with the prices being asked and not with the economic crisis.

Ecclestone, who has waged a bitter war against the BRDC for as long as most fans can remember, constantly leaving the future of the event in the balance, may claim not to be worried by Britain's potential absence from the 2010 calendar - after all, he has Abu Dhabi and Korea - but the fans, teams, drivers and sponsors will, the British Grand Prix having been a constant on the F1 calendar ever since it hosted the first round of the official Formula One World Championship in 1950.

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Monday, October 5, 2009

Silverstone Accident


Recaro race seats and Schroth 6 point harness supplied by MSAR Safety kept us alive. Thanks guys.

John Thorne


Well, nearly 10 years in racing so it had to happen sometime, my first really big shunt - and I wasn't even driving at the time!


Silverstone_Crash_001.jpg
Off side corner took the brunt.
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Overall 7.
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Snapped wheel & snapped brake disc.
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Front chassis totally destroyed.
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All suspension components scrapped.
Silverstone_Crash_007.jpg
Rear Quarter.

While testing a new driver for next seasons CSL Cup, the combination of cold tyres and some oil down on the circuit meant we spun off at Abbey corner on Silverstone GP circuit. Unluckily enough we managed to avoid the tyre wall and slammed sideways into a concrete retaining wall at over 60mph, this was the result.


map.jpg

Silverstone_Crash_008.jpg
Overall shot of damage.
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Footwell.

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Front chassis.
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Overall 5.
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Remainder of wheel & tyre assembly.
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Overall shot 2.

The driver was knocked unconscious and in the aftermath I looked over to see him slumped in the seat and thought “Oh God, he's dead”, I put my hand on his chest to check his breathing and when he moaned I thought “Oh thank God, he's alive." The marshalls were fantastic, they did their usual brilliant job, got me out, got the driver out and sent us down to the medical centre as quickly as they could.


Silverstone_Crash_014.jpg
The force was so great the passenger seat frames warped.
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Warped transmission tunnel.
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Snapped top mount.
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Cockpit remained intact.
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Cracked floor pan behind drivers seat.
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Snapped chassis leg.

Prognosis looked OK for me but Roger was incoherent and both of us were rushed to Northampton General Hospital. A few hours later and Roger is on his way home with a mild concussion but I'm in a bit of trouble. Turns out I've broken my ribs on the right hand side and I'm peeing blood - not good. One overnight stay later and a full chest ultrasound confirm I've done my best to re-arrange my internal organs with the result of some internal bruising but nothing long term, I'm let home with the NHS version of horse tranqulisers and told to 'rest'. Ha.


Silverstone_Crash_013.jpg
The floor of the drivers side folded underneath itself.
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Bent passenger sub frame.
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Drivers footwell.
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Wheel 2.
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Passengers footwell intact.
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Creased Firewall.

I see the car for the first time a few days later (there's only so much day time TV one can take before even pain forces you out) and I'm a little shocked, the impact was tremendous. The E46 chassis is strong in itself but we've managed to narrow the whole car by nearly a foot. Even the transmission tunnel and floor are buckled to the extent that they are folded over one another, it really is pretty shocking to see.


Silverstone_Crash_018.jpg
Overall 3.
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Drivers floor 2.
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Warped transmission tunnel.
Silverstone_Crash_022.jpg
Overall 4.
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Drivers foot well in tact, with minor warping of pedal box.
Silverstone_Crash_035.JPG
Warped firewall.

We spend a long time developing our cages for all of our race cars and the same overall design is used on the Cup cars and the Vauxhalls and I have to say I'm glad we put so much effort into them, the passenger compartment is nearly unaffected, even the pedal area suffers almost zero intrusion and Roger and my injuries are purely due to the shock force itself. We triple brace the front suspension towers and brace these into a special dash bar which runs across the width of the car and even this has been compressed together by the impact – concrete walls don't give much.


Silverstone_Crash_020.jpg
Offside front wing.
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Snapped brake disc.
Silverstone_Crash_041.JPG
Transmission Tunnel.
Silverstone_Crash_021.jpg
Roof and pillars totally in tact and un-moved.
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Broken chassis.
Silverstone_Crash_039.JPG
Overall 8.
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Front shot.
Silverstone_Crash_043.JPG
Footwell.

I can think of better ways to market a cage but no better way of testing one. The car's shell is destroyed but we can strip most of what is there and build a new car so its a testimony to the E46 shell as well. Tough cars these E46 M3's. Our safety was also ensured by our using top quality safety equipment. Recaro race seats and Schroth 6 point harness supplied by MSAR Safety kept us alive. Thanks guys.

Silverstone_Crash_010.jpg
Bent & destroyed competition shock unit.
Silverstone_Crash_033.JPG
Underside.
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Crack behind drivers seat.
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Passengers seat rail warped.
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Nearside front leg moved 10mm.
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Collapsed manifold primaries.
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fside wheel arch.
Silverstone_Crash_006.jpg
Even the near-side chassis leg moved 10mm.


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