FIA institute wins safety award

The FIA Institute has won the 2008 Professional Motorsport World award for its work in improving side-impact protection in rallying.

The Safety Innovation of the Year award marks the development of the FIA Institute’s Advanced Side Impact System, which was introduced into the World Rally Championship this season. The award was presented to project manager Andy Mellor at the Professional Motorsport World Gala Dinner this week in Cologne.

Professor Sid Watkins, FIA Institute President, said: “This award recognises the hard work and dedication that has led to the design and implementation of this latest safety technology. I’m delighted that the work of the FIA Institute, the Closed Car Research Group and the manufacturers has led to the introduction of a protection system that will hugely reduce the consequences of side impact accidents.”

The system, which involves a number of new safety components, has been introduced in phases this season to help teams to incorporate each component into the design of their cars.

At the recent Rally Japan, the FIA Institute introduced its latest specification high performance racing seat, which is an integral part of the side impact safety system. (see our separate story 'New safety seat introduced for Rally Japan')

The FIA Institute will continue to work with WRC teams next season on the installation of more components of the side impact safety system. The next priority will be a load spreading door system that will increase the strength of the car in the region of the front doors and reduce intrusion during a side impact accident. Work is also ongoing to develop a racing net that is complementary to the new FIA racing seat.