This year’s Formula 1 Grand Prix of Canada ended on a very sad note: A track worker was tragically killed in a stupid accident.
I was working in the paddock when the accident happened and I was not aware of it. Nobody was, in fact. It’s the kind of shocking news that an event organiser doesn’t want publicized.
The track worker -- Mark Robinson -- was not even 40. He and a fellow worker went out with a crane to retrieve Esteban Guttierez’s Sauber stuck in the outside tire wall of the Senna corner.
The crane lifted the car to return it to the pits, and while doing this the worker dropped his radio and attempted to pick it up. As he did this, he stumbled and was hit and run over by the recovery vehicle.
Mark Robinson died from his internal injuries moments later -- sad.
Drivers and competitors fully accept the risks linked to the participation in motorsport events. They know that they put their lives at risk. When it’s track workers, marshals, officials, and flaggers who are killed or injured, it’s disconcerting.
These dedicated people are all volunteers. No, they are not paid for what they do. They often use their holidays to work at motorsport events, in rain or shine, from early in the morning to late into the night. It’s impossible to stage a race without the assistance of these people.
I started in this sport as a race marshal, working on the false grid and at the start. I was (much) younger and I did not realize how dangerous it could be at times. We all sign the waivers and paperwork with our eyes closed, thinking that freak accidents cannot happen.
Even spectators are not fully safe while sitting in the grandstands.
Since the start of the season, several spectators were injured in two NASCAR accidents: first during the Daytona Nationwide race, then during the running of the Charlotte Sprint Cup event.
In 2011, a track marshal from the Australian Grand Prix was killed by a wheel from Jacques Villeneuve’s BAR following a crash with Ralf Schumacher’s Williams.
In 1990, a friend of mine was killed during the Vancouver Indy race when he was hit by a car as he crossed the track.
As you can see, it’s not only the drivers who put their lives at risk. Hundreds of unknown dedicated volunteers, fathers and mothers, young men and women, spend endless hours trackside not for the money, but just to fulfill their dreams of being close to the action.
To all of you volunteers: Thank-you. Today, and every race day specifically, I think of you.
I was working in the paddock when the accident happened and I was not aware of it. Nobody was, in fact. It’s the kind of shocking news that an event organiser doesn’t want publicized.
The track worker -- Mark Robinson -- was not even 40. He and a fellow worker went out with a crane to retrieve Esteban Guttierez’s Sauber stuck in the outside tire wall of the Senna corner.
The crane lifted the car to return it to the pits, and while doing this the worker dropped his radio and attempted to pick it up. As he did this, he stumbled and was hit and run over by the recovery vehicle.
Mark Robinson died from his internal injuries moments later -- sad.
Drivers and competitors fully accept the risks linked to the participation in motorsport events. They know that they put their lives at risk. When it’s track workers, marshals, officials, and flaggers who are killed or injured, it’s disconcerting.
These dedicated people are all volunteers. No, they are not paid for what they do. They often use their holidays to work at motorsport events, in rain or shine, from early in the morning to late into the night. It’s impossible to stage a race without the assistance of these people.
I started in this sport as a race marshal, working on the false grid and at the start. I was (much) younger and I did not realize how dangerous it could be at times. We all sign the waivers and paperwork with our eyes closed, thinking that freak accidents cannot happen.
Even spectators are not fully safe while sitting in the grandstands.
Since the start of the season, several spectators were injured in two NASCAR accidents: first during the Daytona Nationwide race, then during the running of the Charlotte Sprint Cup event.
In 2011, a track marshal from the Australian Grand Prix was killed by a wheel from Jacques Villeneuve’s BAR following a crash with Ralf Schumacher’s Williams.
In 1990, a friend of mine was killed during the Vancouver Indy race when he was hit by a car as he crossed the track.
As you can see, it’s not only the drivers who put their lives at risk. Hundreds of unknown dedicated volunteers, fathers and mothers, young men and women, spend endless hours trackside not for the money, but just to fulfill their dreams of being close to the action.
To all of you volunteers: Thank-you. Today, and every race day specifically, I think of you.
 |
| Photo: WRI2 |