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sega
04-02-2007, 02:02 PM
From the american le mans website...

TOMAS ENGE SUFFERS BROKEN ELBOW AND OTHER INJURIES

Less than 18 hours after a violent accident in the Sports Car Challenge at St. Petersburg American Le Mans Series race, Tomas Enge (a native of the Czech Republic living in Monaco) is awake, alert and resting at the Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, Fla. Following overnight evaluation, X-Rays and CT scans of the Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing driver, it has been determined that he has suffered a severely shattered elbow, cracked ribs, a partially collapsed lung and a potentially broken ankle. All the serious injuries were to his left side. Despite being extremely sore and bruised from the accident, Enge is talkative with medical and team personnel and is his lighthearted and humorous self.

X-Rays of Enge's elbow and ankle will be reviewed today by renowned orthopedic surgeon Terry Trammell. Once his recommendations are made, it is anticipated that Enge will be transported to Indianapolis' Methodist Hospital where Trammell's practice is located. Because of the partially collapsed lung, as well as soreness, Enge will not be transported to Indianapolis until Monday at the earliest. The date of Enge's surgery, its duration and magnitude, as well as his projected recuperation time have not been determined at this time.

Enge was injured in a serious accident on Saturday during the running of the second American Le Mans Series race of the season. Near the two hour mark of the two hour, 45-minute race, the driver's side of the No.31 MMPIE/PAWS/Petersen Holdings/Michelin Ferrari F430 GT made heavy contact with the retaining wall between turns three and four on the 14-turn, 1.8- mile temporary street course. Enge, who had the fastest qualifying lap and set fastest race lap for the event, was leading the GT2 class at the time of the accident.

Additional information will be made available as it becomes available.

Quotes

Dale White, Team Manager/Entrant: "Tomas is back to himself 100% today. That is really good to see. You always hope for the best and try to fight thinking the worse in situations like this. But, even last night, he was the same-old Tomas so all the fears of the worse are gone. Scott Atherton, the American Le Mans Series and the staff here at Bayfront have been tremendous and we want to thank them. We are working on all the details of what comes next in his treatment and recuperation and we will let everyone know the details as soon as we can. On behalf of the Tomas and the team I want to thank everyone for the incredible outpouring of support. There is no way we can express our gratitude."

More on Petersen Motorsports/ White Lightning Racing can be found at PetersenMotorsports.com

666fast
04-02-2007, 07:46 PM
Good too know he is alright, for the most part anyway!

sega
04-02-2007, 07:52 PM
Good too know he is alright, for the most part anyway!

Ya, but i wonder if he will be healthy enough for 24 hours of lemans...i hope so.

saadie
04-02-2007, 08:10 PM
crashes with injuries are always bad :( .... yeah hope he makes it for the 24 hour run .. .
when is the 24 race btw ?

666fast
04-02-2007, 10:14 PM
crashes with injuries are always bad :( .... yeah hope he makes it for the 24 hour run .. .
when is the 24 race btw ?

June.

Given the injuries, I wouldn't expect to see him there.

If you haven't seen the crash:
Tomas Enge crash and fire in St Pete - YouTube

saadie
04-02-2007, 10:31 PM
:shock: ..
one of the reasons why im sticking to open wheelers :\

silentm
04-03-2007, 04:41 PM
^^ try telling that Hammond :roll: the comparison isn't the best but essentially your head could easily get crushed/mangled and those are fatal injuries.

if your hurt your hurt and your ability to move is greatly impailed. getitng out of open wheelers might be a bit easier, but still if you are in shock i don't think it makes such a big difference.

good to hear the lucky man is alive :)

saadie
04-03-2007, 05:18 PM
comparatively openwheelers are a little safer imo ... they are made with crash boxes crumple zones and all .. you are right about getting the head crushed ...

i've been raincing opeenwheelers for a quiet a while now ... i really feel safe in those cars then the car i drive at home actually :lol: ....

hope he recovers quick though ..

ViperASR
04-03-2007, 06:24 PM
comparatively openwheelers are a little safer imo ... they are made with crash boxes crumple zones and all .. you are right about getting the head crushed ...

i've been raincing opeenwheelers for a quiet a while now ... i really feel safe in those cars then the car i drive at home actually :lol: ....

hope he recovers quick though ..

depends what open wheeler vs car though. Generally a car has more crumple zones, as the body work of an openwheeler is build directly around the cage, as in a car there is more room between the driver and the cage for the most part. Plus in openwheelers there is more of a chance of catching air when you hit another car because the tires can rub one another and send one car flying.

Basically, racing is a dangerous sport anyway you look at it.

About feeling safer in those cars then in the ride home, its probobly for 2 reasons. One is statistics, you are probobly more likely to die on the way to the track then at the track. And number 2 is that your really strapped in and secure in a racing car, where as in a road car you are free to move around. Psychology shows that humans feel safer when they are surrounded and "tucked in" to something.

TopGearNL
04-08-2007, 12:54 PM
Interesting, Tomas Enge is a good driver, I like his style its just that he does some weird stuff from time to time..