10/01/2007
NEWS STORY
Tsutomu Tomita, Chairman and Team Principal of Panasonic Toyota Racing, will present a Toyota TF105 show car to the FIA Institute at the inaugural FIA Institute Safety Summit at the Paul Ricard circuit on January 18.
The F1 car presented by Toyota will be a tool for the FIA Institute's international extrication training programme for medical and safety officials working in single seater racing.
The TF105 car will be used to improve techniques of driver extrication following accidents, and has been specially modified with a jig fitted to allow the FIA Institute to easily roll the car upside down, while the roll hoop camera has been removed.
It features a modified driver's seat to fit a crash test dummy into the cockpit and a dummy steering wheel. Instead of an engine, a steel frame has been included in the rear of the car to simulate the size and weight of a Formula 1 engine. The car features Bridgestone tyres and Takata safety restraints in line with Toyota's 2007 specifications.
Professor Gerard Saillant, Deputy President of the FIA Institute said: "We are grateful for the support that the FIA Institute has received from Toyota in helping us to achieve our safety training objectives. The generous donation of an F1 car will help to enhance the training of motor sport safety officials.
"We are also grateful to Toyota for sharing their approach to safety with us in our conference sessions. The level of knowledge and experience of all our guest speakers promises a very high quality discussion at this our first Safety Summit.
"We look forward to welcoming our guests at the Paul Ricard Circuit which is appropriately the first recipient of our coveted Centre of Excellence Award."
Tsutomu Tomita, Chairman and Team Principal of Panasonic Toyota Racing said: "I am very pleased to be able to hand over this car to the FIA Institute and contribute to the future of safety in Formula 1. Safety is very important to us and we will do whatever we can to help the FIA and the FIA Institute in their work to make Formula 1 and motor sport in general safer.
"The FIA Institute is conducting very important research which will be of enormous benefit to drivers throughout motor sport and we have no hesitation in contributing to their effort."
The formal hand over will be followed by the opening session of the FIA Institute Safety Summit and will include statements and presentations by FIA President, Max Mosley; WilliamsF1 driver, Alex Wurz; Chairman and Panasonic Toyota Racing Team Principal, Tsutomu Tomita; President of the IOC Medical Commission, Dr Patrick Schamasch; President and CEO of the Paul Ricard Circuit, Philippe Gurdjian; Senior Medical Advisor for the Superbowl, Dr Ricardo Martinez and Jean-Philippe d'Hallivillée of the Paris Saint-Germain Football Team.
Delegates already registered for the Summit, which will be chaired by FIA Institute Deputy President Professor Gerard Saillant, include representatives of the Grand Prix Drivers Association, senior representatives of racing and rally teams, manufacturers, promoters, circuit administrators and officials, medical practitioners and motor sport safety equipment manufacturers from across the world.