A death on the streets of Adelaide-Rest In Peace Ashley Cooper
February 25th 2008 10:44
Ashley Cooper
From the Official V8 Supercars website http://www.v8supercar.com.au written by Wayne Cattach, V8 Supercars Safety Officer.
“It was sad to learn that Fujitsu V8 Supercar driver Ashley Cooper has passed away.
Ashley fought a strong battle but sadly his injuries were too great.
Our greatest sympathies and all of our wishes are with Ashley’s family, in particular his partner Casey and their two children Ella and Bailey.
As a group we will do absolutely everything we can to support them at this time. I visited Ashley’s parents and his partner Casey in hospital yesterday along with Clipsal 500 Chief Executive Andrew Daniels and we will continue support them along the rocky road ahead.
We ask that all members of the media respect the privacy of the family and do not contact them at this time.
A full and thorough inquiry into the accident will be conducted and led by CAMS.
We have had a preliminary look at the footage of the accident and from what it appears his car may have clipped the guard rail on entry to the corner. There is nothing that we can find that would indicate any failure of the seat, his HANS device*, the straps or the roll cage.
Our sport over-complies with the highest FIA rules for closed cockpit racing and most of our teams extend even beyond our own high standards with their own safety measures.
Certainly there have been accidents that would appear far more severe than was the case here when drivers have walked away unscathed. Such is the nature of motorsport.
We will not be making any further comment at this time.”
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Cooper was involved in a high speed crash at notorious turn eight, known as the sweeper, at the Adelaide street circuit this weekend. An area of the track where cars are travelling in excess of 200 km/h. After suffering severe head and internal injuries and an emergency tracheotomy trackside, he fought a courageous fight for life at the Royal Adelaide Hospital before losing the battle earlier today.
I’m sure I can speak for all of us and offer our best wishes to Ashley’s family.
Motorsport is a dangerous occupation and drivers go into competition knowing that something potentially fatal could happen to them at any time. They trust in the safety of the equipment around them, they trust in the integrity of the other drivers and they trust in the safety of the circuits they drive around. Reports are filtering out concerning the limited safety features of the Fujitsu Series V8 cars in comparison to the V8 Supercars but whatever the reason, Ashley Cooper will always be remembered in the sport and on the streets of Adelaide.
* A neck support device that all drivers in the V8 Supercar Series and Fujitsu Series are required to wear during races.
Photo courtesy of www.smh.com.au
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