Dundee University is to investigate its student motor racing team after a crash left a 19-year-old needing brain surgery.
A second-year civil engineering student, thought to be Joseph Purslow, from Cumbria, was at the wheel of a single-seater, open-wheel car designed and built by the DRIVE team when it hit a barrier at the Knockhill circuit in Fife on Tuesday.
He underwent an operation at Western General Hospital in Edinburgh on Wednesday and a spokesman for Fife Constabulary said he was in a ”serious but stable” condition.
Asked if the university is reviewing the team’s activities in light of the accident, a spokesman said: ”The university will examine the circumstances around this incident and will also work fully with all other authorities.
”The DRIVE team operates within all of the regulations laid down by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IME) through the Formula Student competition. Drivers are required to hold a full driving licence.
”The DRIVE team’s activities are supported through the mechanical engineering and mechatronics department of the university and the project has been keenly supported by staff and students over the past five years.”
In the wake of the accident, DRIVE took the decision to pull out of the Scottish Student Karting Cup.
Organisers Scottish Student Motorsport said: ”Our thoughts are with everyone at DRIVE after one of their drivers sustained injuries in a crash at the Formula Student track day at Knockhill racing circuit. We wish the driver a speedy and successful recovery.
”It has been a tough few weeks for motorsport in general, and it’s moments like this that not only bring home the fact that it truly can happen to any of us, but also show the strength of our tight-nit community. We fully understand and support Dundee’s decision to withdraw at this difficult time.”
The risks involved in motorsport have been highlighted by the recent deaths of British Indycar driver Dan Wheldon at a race in Las Vegas and Italian motorcyclist Marco Simoncelli at the Malaysian MotoGP.
DRIVE Dundee University Race Innovation and Vehicle Engineering takes part in the Formula Student competition run by IME to promote careers in engineering by challenging university students to design, build, develop, market and compete as a team with a single-seater racing car.
Several university teams were at Knockhill for a track day, which included a chance for them test their cars against each other in a time trial.