By Sports Reporter/Doha
The latest FIA Institute medical seminar for the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region featured two days of presentations and practical demonstrations at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar this week.
Delegates at the two-day conference, which concluded on Thursday, were made up of motorsport medical personnel from around the region who listened to presentations given by senior motorsport safety officials. They also took part in workshops and simulations to practice important extrication skills.
Deutscher Motor Sport Bund Medical chairman and Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the German Grand Prix Dr Michael Scholz spoke about the planning stages necessary for safety in motorsport. Dr Scholz also discussed other safety procedures during a motorsport event that include: doping control, the drivers’ briefing, and weather and other natural hazards.
FIA World Rally Championship CMO Jean Duby covered the varied aspects of rally safety for competitors, spectators and officials, including the extrication techniques used in rally events and the organisational structures for rally and other off-road events.
Bahrain Motor Federation CMO Dr Amjad Obeid discussed the correct procedure for the selection of medical staff, which included how to fully prepare the medical team for the event and the correct accident management procedures. These include injury code classifications and communication protocols.
The seminar also featured practical demonstrations and exercises in extrication utilising the FIA’s medical extrication simulators for closed car and open wheel racing. The second day of the event included simulation work on track, with an exercise involving a car going into barrier and a difficult extrication.
Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) president and FIA vice president (Mena) Nasser Khalifa al-Attiyah, who opened the event, said: “I’d like to thank the FIA representatives for attending the Mena medical seminar and bringing their expertise to the delegates. We were very happy to host this seminar in Qatar for the first time and I’m sure everybody is leaving with a good experience of our region, as well as knowledge and skills to take back to their organisations.
“Without medical and safety officials we cannot run our events. We really need our doctors and medical officials to be in good shape because a successful motor sport organisation will not succeed without them. As our delegates return home, I ask them not to stop communicating with each other and the FIA, as together we can continue to develop better equipment, medical skills and safety practices throughout the motor sport world.”
QMMF president and FIA vice president Nasser Khalifa al-Attiyah (centre) attends the Medicine in Motorsport seminar in Doha.
