I didn't mean to suggest that it is a death sentence. Many people continue to have very fulfilled lives. But some take being severely disabled very badly and it breaks them. I would guess the inherent competitive and arrogant nature of a racing driver tends to make them fight and "prove their worth" (horrible phrase but can't think of a better one at the moment). They are nature's go-getters. Me? I think I'd find such an injury very difficult to live with.
https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news ... 20/?nrt=86Among the injuries Wickens sustained were:
- Thoracic spinal fracture
- Spinal cord injury
- Neck fracture
- Tibia and fibula fractures to both legs
- Fractures in both hands
- Fractured right forearm
- Fractured elbow
- Four fractured ribs
- Pulmonary contusion
Or just minimise the number of meetings on high-speed superways as they are inherently dangerous.roon wrote: ↑22 Aug 2018, 00:22If that is the prognosis, how will this affect the sport moving forward? Hunter-Ray's situation calls for a halo type device. But Wicken's situation calls for changes to the tracks (barriers) or the cars (nose height, wheel covers, go kart type side bumpers). Or not, and these results are accepted as part of the risk of the event.
- Dale Coyne https://www.autosport.com/indycar/news/ ... 2019-drive"People understand about laying it all on the line for the Indy 500 and everything that comes with it.
"But racing in front of 12,000 people at 220mph at some of these other tracks, it's fair to ask what we're doing, why we're doing it."
This does not necessarily mean he will never regain function of his legs - T4 means he is currently paralysed from the chest down. The fact the chord wasn't severed means there is hope for him that the nerves will recover, hopefully that's not a false hope, but nerves recover quite slowly in my experience.
I'm glad he is in great spirits. I really hope for a recovery as there are already positive signs. It just is unbearable to me what a horrific accident he had; he went from rookie of the year to basically being in doubt of if he will ever walk againjjn9128 wrote: ↑27 Oct 2018, 12:28This does not necessarily mean he will never regain function of his legs - T4 means he is currently paralysed from the chest down. The fact the chord wasn't severed means there is hope for him that the nerves will recover, hopefully that's not a false hope, but nerves recover quite slowly in my experience.
https://twitter.com/robertwickens/statu ... 5609447424
He's also able to smile and have fun...
https://twitter.com/robertwickens/statu ... 5609558022
Good luck to him - taking Wicken's place within that team won't be easy I think. Rosenqvist confirmed for Ganassi too means Sweden is representing in Indycar.
His career might lift up in the States. Who knows he might even win Indy 500 before Alonso does.jjn9128 wrote: ↑30 Oct 2018, 16:36Good luck to him - taking Wicken's place within that team won't be easy I think. Rosenqvist confirmed for Ganassi too means Sweden is representing in Indycar.
An unnamed driver was also testing for a possible 3rd Carlin entry at COTA this week (not sure if they were wearing an unbranded helmet like the Mercedes Pirelli test).... wonder who that could be. Alonso maybe?