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Winning the Race for Safety

Delphi's ADR3 is the latest driver safety innovation for motorsports.

Race drivers at every level of motorsports accept a certain level of risk every time they climb into a car. Delphi is helping racecar and even track designers, among other groups, develop new ways to help minimize those risks with its advanced Accident Data Recorder 3 (ADR3).

Related Information: Delphi motorsports welcomed a new member to its team earlier this season when the Indy Racing League's Vitor Meira climbed into the red, yellow, and black Delphi-sponsored Dallara-Honda. Driving for Panther Racing, the talented and popular Meira is a five-year IRL veteran with 59 starts to his credit entering the 2007 season. Though still seeking his elusive first win, in that span he recorded 22 top-five finishes and seven runner-up finishes, including an impressive second-place showing at the 2005 Indianapolis 500. "We're very excited about our association with Panther Racing and Vitor Meira," said Brad Stout, manager of motorsports marketing for Delphi. "We're also pleased that this allows us to continue our relationship with the IRL, where Delphi has one of the longest-running associations of any sponsor. And we're really looking forward to helping Vitor get to Victory Lane in 2007."

Used on all Indy Racing League IndyCar® Series and Indy Pro Series™ cars, the ADR3 is Delphi's third generation accident data recorder. It provides valuable data to multiple concerned parties. Far more powerful and capable than its predecessors, it collects and stores a wide range of data before, during and after an accident. The most immediate -- and critical -- use for this information comes as on-site medical personnel can quickly retrieve and analyze impact data to help them anticipate what types of injuries a driver may have suffered so they can prepare appropriate treatment. (But the ADR3's usefulness extends far beyond rapid medical response.)

"In any emergency event, a few seconds can be critical, and the ADR3 can help provide that edge," said Glen Gray, Delphi motorsports technical operations manager. "But it is after the fact that the ADR3 really proves its worth, as it allows us to learn from every incident so designers can help make safer cars, and racetracks."

Car designers can use the data to virtually re-create an accident in order to study how a car reacts to the various forces involved (and their effects on the driver). That has led to additional safety features being integrated into the cars, such as head and neck restraints to counteract forces on drivers' heads. Track owners and managers are also looking for ways to make their facilities safer for participants, and data collected by Delphi Accident Data Recorders can help them develop more effective safety systems at tracks around the world. One of the most significant examples of a group using data from Delphi data recorders to develop a track safety system is the development of the SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barrier, a steel and foam wall designed to absorb much of the energy in an impact. After analyzing data to determine how a softer wall could help absorb impact forces, the development team first introduced the SAFER barrier at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2002. All oval tracks visited by the IRL and NASCAR now incorporate the SAFER barrier system.

Delphi's ADR3 has made such valuable contributions to safety innovations it earned the 41st annual BorgWarner Louis Schwitzer award. Named for an early racing pioneer, the award is presented by a team of engineers and acknowledges individuals with the courage and passion to explore and develop new concepts in racing technology. Delphi, which also won the award on two previous occasions, will have its name added to a permanent trophy on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.

Little red box

The ADR3 can sense and record multiple vehicle parameters at 1,000 samples per second before, during, and after an accident. Monitored parameters can include wheel speed, throttle position, steering angle, tire pressure, x-y-z-axes acceleration, and seat belt loads. An ear-plug sensor worn by the race car driver measures impact on the driver. All data is stored in memory, which can be retrieved via a high-speed data link to a personal computer.

Delphi's Accident Data Recorder 3 (ADR3)

"With double the memory and 31 additional signal inputs, this is a huge step up from ADR2," said Gray. He added that the ADR3 is both more than a third smaller and weighs a pound less than its ADR2 predecessor. "And reduced weight is critical to race teams."

ADR3 is designed to be virtually invisible to the race teams, who simply install it and forget about it. Teams don't even have to change the wiring harness in older cars, as ADR3 accepts both the old ADR2 connection and a newer connection. The device is tied to the engine control module and begins recording whenever the engine is started. The ADR3 records approximately 90 seconds of data prior to an accident and 30 seconds of data after the engine stops running.

Safety at the forefront

The IRL has quickly embraced the ADR3 technology, and Delphi has hopes other series may also one day begin using the device.

Delphi has been actively involved in open-wheel racing since 1988. As the "Official Safety Supplier" to the IRL, Delphi provides the IRL Safety Team's vehicles, consisting of four Honda vehicles equipped with medical and towing capabilities. In addition, all of the cars in the IRL are equipped with additional Delphi safety and performance products like the Delphi Earpiece Sensor System.

For more information about Delphi's ADR3, click here. For more information on all of Delphi's motorsports products, click here.

IndyCar and Indy Pro Series are trademarks of Brickyard Trademarks, Inc. and/or licensed to the IRL for use.

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