Seton hospitalised after massive Island testing shunt
27/9/2000 6:22 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) - Glenn Seton will spend tonight in a Melbourne hospital recuperating from a massive, high-speed shunt during pre-Bathurst testing at Phillip Island Raceway today.
Seton was rushed to hospital after being knocked unconscious in a 200km/hr crash coming off the main straight at the super-quick Island circuit.
The driver-side, tyre-wall impact knocked the 35-year-old unconscious initially, but he later gained consciousness before being rushed to Phillip Island’s Cowes Hospital.
Seton was later air-lifted to Melbourne via Emergency Helicopter to further determine the seriousness of his injuries. He has since been cleared of head and spinal damage, but will remain in hospital for the next few days with bruising and suspected broken ribs.
"Glenn's had X-Rays and scans and I'm happy to say he's got no sign of spinal or head injury,” FTR General Manager, Jon Matthews, said.
“We suspect he may have either cracked or broken ribs but it's still a bit early to tell," he said.
Speaking from his hospital bed, Seton said a rain-soaked Phillip Island infield contributed to the loss of control.
"I just pushed a little too hard coming onto the main straight, I dropped a rear wheel into the grass and just lost it,” a recovering Seton said. “It was extremely wet on the grass and the car just took off, I just lost control."
"I'm very lucky, I'll be in hospital for a couple of days with a few bruises. I'll be fit for the next round of the Championship at Sandown next week," he said.
The Ford-Tickford Falcon sustained severe damage in the accident, but the team are adamant the car, with Seton behind the wheel, will line-up on the Sandown grid come next week.
Seton sits on the third rung of the Shell Series ladder, and will need a solid performance at Sandown to keep his title hopes alive.
The crash cut-short Wayne Gardner’s time behind the wheel, who was testing with the team ahead of his FTR Bathurst drive with Neal Bates.
Gardner had only ten laps in the car before disaster struck.
“I was getting a lot of under-steer in the fast corners and felt the Falcon was far too soft in the slow corners, with a lot of body roll,” Gardner said. “Glenn said he’d do a few laps in my car to see if we were talking the same language and to see if there was any major differences between the two set-ups.”
“As he turned the last corner before the straight two wheels hit the dirt on the outside of the track and because it had been raining the car let go, then skid across the grass and pounded the fire wall.”
“We all ran to the car to get Glenn out – he’d been knocked unconscious and we needed to handle him carefully as we didn’t know what injuries he may have sustained,” he said.
Gardner was still optimistic after his debut outing in a Ford. “I have to say, even though I got less than a dozen laps in the car, it feels like it is going to be fast.”
The former 500cc Motorcycle champ will get more time behind the wheel in early November.
FTR today shared the circuit with Factory rivals the Holden Racing Team, who were also involved in pre-Bathurst testing with their endurance imports – British Touring Car stars Yvan Muller and Jason Plato.
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