WRC
David Coulthard shows us how the steel skeleton of the roll cage can save lives of rally drivers.
For much of its history, The World Rally Championship was one of the most dangerous sports on the planet. Unlike Formula One and WEC LMP1 cars, WRC cars are based on road cars; so they haven’t been designed for racing. As a result, the engineers need to make the cars strong enough and safe enough to withstand the punishment of a rally week.
In the event of a crash in WRC, it’s vital that the passenger cabin stays in one piece to shield the driver and co-driver from injury. For this reason, every single WRC car is fitted with a roll cage. As the name suggests, in case of a high-speed crash, if the car rolls over, this cage protects its occupants from the external elements.
Made from high-tensile steel, the roll cage is rigid enough to withstand the impact and yet flexible enough to dissipate the energy away from the driver. Roll cages are not just restricted to WRC, they are used in almost every form of closed-wheel racing, from Dakar to drifting and from WEC to NASCAR.
Take a look at the video above as David Coulthard explains why the roll cage is one of the most important safety features of this generation.
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