FIA Institute appoints Paul Ricard
Toyota has a permanent test facility at Paul Ricard, which is now an FIA Centre for Excellence.
Picture: Toyota F1
The Paul Ricard High Tech Test Track has been appointed the FIA Institute’s first Centre for Motor Sport Excellence. It will be used to host safety seminars, train motor sport officials, and test new safety features designed by the FIA Institute’s working groups.
The circuit at Le Castellet in outhern France, was selected because of its high safety standards and its continual developments in this field. It already boasts a number of unique safety features that are set to become commonplace at circuits around the word. These include 25 acres of run-off areas, made from a special type of abrasive asphalt rather than the gravel beds used at other circuits, and a computerized marshalling system, which uses warning lights activated by transponders on the cars.
Paul Ricard also boasts a state of the art medical centre equipped with its own digital x-ray machine. The medical centre is the most advanced facility of its type for any circuit in the world. Other facilities include a medical helicopter landing pad, a fully equipped resuscitation ambulance, a two-bed observation ward with full medical equipment, full life-support facilities with two emergency sections, and a serious burns unit with appropriate bath.
The medical centre is managed by Jean Duby, FIA medical delegate for the World Rally Championship. It also employs a further eight permanent staff, including an anesthetist nurse and a number of trained firemen.
The former French Grand Prix venue is the first of a number of circuits that will become centers of excellence for safety. It is envisaged that a circuit will be selected in each continent to act as a hub for improving motor sport safety standards in that region.
FIA Institute President Sid Watkins said: “Paul Ricard has proved itself to be one of the safest tracks in the world and its medical facilities are second to none. I am delighted that the FIA Institute is officially recognizing these high safety standards in appointing Paul Ricard as the first Centre of Excellence for Motor Sport Safety.”
Discuss this news story in the e-Tracks forums.
