FIA President Jean Todt opened the event by welcoming the attendees and thanking them for their contribution to motor sport. He said: “We know motor sport is dangerous and this is something we must never forget. This summit is very important because it allows you to make an assessment of events and what should be the next steps.

These steps are essential and you will have the opportunity to contribute to improvements in safety across the FIA, which is represented in 141 countries.

“The racing programmes of each of these countries are different but it is our responsibility to ensure that everybody has access to protection of the drivers, protection of the teams, and protection of the spectators. I look forward very much to seeing your conclusions.”

 

Professor Gérard Saillant, President of the FIA Institute and FIA Medical Commission, then introduced the schedule for the first day of the summit, which involved a number of presentations and discussions. The first presentation covered safety in electric and hybrid racing and was given by Dr Phil Rayner, FIA Medical Delegate for the Formula E Championship. He was then joined in discussion by Formula One Medical Rescue Co-ordinator Dr Ian Roberts and World Touring Car Championship Medical Delegate Dr Jacques Tropenat, who how revealed each series has adapted medical care for these new technologies.

This was followed by round table discussions on rally safety and concussion before the Chief Medical Officers’ Seminar took place in the afternoon, with FIA Medical Delegates from F1, the WRC and Formula E presenting their overview for the year. 

 

The first day of the summit culminated in presentations of papers covering a variety of topics ranging from reforming extrication teams to an in-depth look at the new FIA Accident Database. 

It was confirmed that Deutscher Motor Sport Bund (DMSB) and the Bahrain Motor Federation (BMF) have become FIA Institute-appointed Medical Regional Training Providers (RTPs).

Summit attendees visited also the Aspetar Hospital, the first specialised orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital in the Gulf, to undertake practical exercises related to motor sport safety and medicine.