A Day in Perspective

The events of the previous twenty-four hours have put many things into clearer perspective, and the overpowering emotion experienced by everyone in RML AD Group, and shared by many in the paddock, has been one of immense relief to see Mike Newton back at the track and in such good form. The CEO of AD Group turned up at the circuit late on Friday morning wearing a broad smile and a multi-coloured swathe of bruises.

Accepting all the disappointment of knowing that he and the team would not be racing this weekend, he embarked on a whirlwind ambassadorial tour; taking part in an emotional briefing of his company's guests in the Smoking Dog hospitality; joining the crew of Radio Le Mans in the broadcasting booth to add his wit and wisdom to their coverage of the afternoon's qualifying sessions, and tackling the many mountainous staircases around the paddock with stoic determination and little more than the occasional grimace. It was a great sight to see.

As is explained by our Weekend Review, the outcome of yesterday's horrendous accident for Mike has, miraculously, been little more than a few cuts and muscle strains, and more bruises than an apple in a cider press. In spite of being in evident discomfort, the distinctive Newton laugh was to be heard frequently during the afternoon, although the constant loop of video being relayed to the guests, re-telling the story of his encounter with Pedro Lamy, did become a little wearing after a while!

We have included a sequence of photos below that may help to illsutrate not only the nature of Mike's crash, but also the speed and efficiency of the marshals, incident support crews and medical staff at the circuit.

The dust has yet to settle but Mike has already lifted the visor on his helmet

Pedro Lamy is out of the #9 Peugeot within seconds, but the extent of the damage is clear

The first of the marshals arrive at the scene, as the cars continue to circulate

The doctors remove Mike's helmet and they talk to him as Pedro Lamy looks on in concern

More incident support vehicles arrive

The time when those watching from the garage became even more concerned for Mike's safety

With Mike safely on his way to the medical centre, the car is recovered on a flatbed

"It's just a great pleasure to be back here, in one piece," Mike admitted on Friday morning. "I'm feeling a little sore, but the fact that there's little more to show for my accident than that is huge testament to the safety equipment and the inherent strength of the car. I've been wearing a HANS device regularly since 2002, long before it became mandatory to do so, and yesterday there's no doubt it saved my neck. I'd also like to give credit to Arai for the excellent performance of the GP-6 carbon fibre helmet - it was more than man enough for the job, for which I'm very grateful."

The helmet had signs of having been buried deep into the tyres, and there were red streaks all across the front, the chin area and the top, while the tear-off across the visor (which miraculously didn't break) was lacquered deeply with red paint (although that had been removed by the time this photo was taken, although the remarkable state of the helmet can be seen). The HANS device also stops a driver's head from moving far under rapid deceleration, and is central to protecting the neck.

"There is a such a huge speed differential between the classes in the Le Mans Series this season," added Mike. "Pedro was nowhere in sight when I went into Pouhon, and he simply came out of nowhere. I have never seen anyone attempt an overtaking maneuver into Pif Paf like that. Once the cars touched, we both started to spin. I remember the touch, and I remember the spin, and I can even remember seeing that stack of red tyres coming towards me very quickly, but after that, it's all a bit patchy."

Initially the team was unaware that Mike had been involved in the accident, and Phil tried to warn Mike over the radio that the session had been red flagged. Mike's radio in the car had been damaged in the impact, and although Mike was trying to speak back to the team, they couldn't hear him.

"The marshals were terrific, and they all did a wonderful job. They insisted I stayed in the car until the doctors arrived. They put a neck brace on me, fitted me onto a spine board, and got me off to the medical centre very quickly." It was a harrowing period for the rest of the team, unable to speak to Mike, and only having distant views from the TV monitors. When the marshals erected the canvas screens around Mike, it looks so much worse than it really was, but they weren't to know that.

"It was very scary for us. We couldn't determine how badly Mike was hurt," admitted Pauline Norstrom. "Phil and Tommy went to Race Control straight away, and then we all went to the medical centre at Stavelot. Mike was there, insisting he was fine, and asking to be released!"

Instead, he was subjected to a whole raft of basic tests, but they weren't enough to satisfy the doctors, who insisted he was then transferred to the Peltzer-la-Tourelle hospital in Verviers for further checks. "The doctors were concerned about internal bleeding, and perhaps bone fractures," explained Pauline. "The examination included a neck scan that involved more than a 1000 individual images, which they used to construct a 3D image of the vertebra. We were all very relived - and no more so than Mike of course, when they gave him a clean bill of health."

Ben Collins was full of admiration for his co-driver. "I've never come across anyone quite like Mike before," he said. "To have come through an accident like this, and be back and working again the next day, is simply extraordinary. He's an amazing guy."

Before . . . and after

Through most of Thursday evening the RML engineers and mechanics worked on the car, removing all the damaged components, checking what remained for structural integrity, and then rebuilding enough of the car using spare parts and bodypanels to enable it to be put to bed in what, at least to untrained eyes, looked to be good condition. Not until the car is returned to the workshops in Wellingborough will it be possible to carry out the detailed checks and examinations, including ultrasound scanning, that will reveal whether or not the central "tub" can be repaired. If it can't, then a replacement will be needed.

A photo of the impact by Pascal Saivet of Vision Sport Cars. The brake lights are still on!

RML AD Group at Spa 2011
For an explanation of why RML AD Group had to withdraw from the rest of the weekend, including comments from Team Manager Phil Barker and the three drivers, please see the Spa 1000 Kilometres Weekend Report.

For high-resolution images, please view the Spa Francorchamps Gallery.