Cooper Critical at Clipsal
Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series driver Ashley Cooper was critically injured after an accident at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide today.
On lap 11 of the second and final feeder series race of the weekend, Cooper made heavy, side-on contact with a safety barrier at the fast turn eight.
Cooper is undergoing continual treatment in the Royal Adelaide Hospital for severe head trauma and internal injuries, after his vehicle left the circuit on lap 11 of the second and final race of the Fujitsu Supercar Series impacting a safety barrier on the passenger side of the car.
He was attended to at the scene by Chief Medical Officer, Dr Roger Capps and V8 Supercar doctor, Dr Carl Lee, who had to perform an emergency tracheotomy trackside in order to stabilise Cooper before he could be transported to hospital.
“Both doctors are experts in trauma management and he was in the best possible hands,” V8 Supercars Australia CEO, Wayne Cattach, said.
“The most bothering injury at this stage is the swelling of the brain. I understand there is no bleeding of the brain at this time, but it’s been traumatised and is still critical in nature.
“Clearly these situations impact heavily on the motor sport family and as a group we will offer absolutely everything we can to support the family at this time,” Cattach continued.
“This unfortunate accident will be the subject of a full and thorough inquiry into the accident by CAMS (Confederation of Australian Motor Sport).”
While talk at the track surrounded equipment failure of Coopers seat and seatbelt as the cause of the injuries, the President of CAMS, Colin Osborne, refused to speculate as to the cause of the accident or the resulting injuries.
“Whenever a critical incident of this type occurs there is a process we set in place to investigate the cause of the accident,” he said.
“We will work with the relevant authorities to make sure that that investigation is complete and if there are lessons to be learnt from it they will impact on decisions that are made for future events.”
The incident occurred on the super-fast Turn Eight, which has been the scene of some notorious accidents over the 12-year history of the Clipsal 500.
Cattach was quick to point out that the Adelaide circuit complies with all necessary safety standards, and that no changes would be made to the infamous Turn Eight until the results of the CAMS investigation were known.
“It’s a fast corner, no question, but it meets all design requirements of the FIA and I have absolute confidence in the way the barriers have been put together,” Cattach said.
“It would be premature to draw any conclusions yet because we don’t know what caused the accident.”
Cooper (27), a father of two from Ulladulla in NSW, is an experienced driver and was competing in his fourth Fujitsu V8 Supercar event. He has been involved in motor sport for some time.
His father and mother are currently at his bedside and his wife is expected to arrive in Adelaide later today.
All at TouringCarTimes wish him a speedy recovery!
