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CRASH! – The Story of How The HANS Helped Save Racing

Published on 17 February 2020 at 2:28PM by Frontend Editor

CRASH! is the story behind one of the most significant safety innovations in motorsport, the Head and Neck Support (HANS) device.

Written by Jonathan Ingram, it follows the work of the late Dr Robert Hubbard and brother-in-law Jim Downing of how they created the HANS device to combat the pandemic of basilar skull fractures in motorsport.

With the help of Dr Steve Olvey, a frequent contributor to SAFEisFAST.com, and Dr Sid Watkins they were able to develop the safety device further to be used in top-level motorsport.

Today the HANS is mandatory in every international FIA championship and used by 275,000 competitors worldwide, effectively eliminating death by basilar skull fracture and paving the way for further developments in frontal head restraints.

CRASH! – From Senna To Earnhardt: How The Hans Helped Save Racing is published by RJP Books and is available to purchase here.