Hotzone

FEATURE / / C O R E B O D Y T E M P E R AT U R E S

The thermometer pill and digital

readout tracking the core temp

The three-layer fireproof suit offers

little chance to cool by sweating

The season-opener at Clipsal

is usually a real sizzler

Skaife rehydrates after finishing a race

at Oran Park earlier this year

Courtney feels the heat Brighty’s coolsuit at Clipsal: this

year it failed in race one

A CRASH might be the most obvious

threat to a driver’s safety, but it’s

far from the only one. The physical

demands of driving and exposure to

toxins, along with extreme heat, can

affect concentration in the most focused

racer, not a welcome sign at 250km/h.

Keeping core body temperature

under control is a constant challenge

for drivers and their racing teams.

Though they often have to endure cabin

temperatures in excess of 50C, research

shows that hyperthermia, a core

temperature greater than 38.5C, can

still develop even when vehicle cabin

temperatures are lower. Normal body

temperature is between 36 to 37C; a

reading above 40C is life threatening.

Victorian researchers measured the

core body temperature of experienced

racing drivers over eight races over the

2005 and 2006 V8 Supercar Series.

They found that though vehicle cabin

temperatures varied dramatically

from 21C to 54C, hyperthermia was

experienced by drivers in most races.

Even at 27C, other research has

shown regular drivers miss 50 per cent

more dashboard signals than when the

car temperature was 21C. And reaction

times were 22 per cent longer at the

higher temperature.

Ironically, the fireproof racesuits,

boots, balaclavas, gloves and

helmet contribute to the raised body

temperatures of the drivers. The body

can’t cool down through sweating

as there is almost no exposed skin,

increasing core temperature.

“The suits do not breathe well

because they must be able to protect

the skin from fire danger,” Dr Trevor

Allen, from the Victorian Institute of

Sport, said. He carried out the core-

temperature study with colleagues

Dr Adele White, and Margaret

Glewis from RMIT.

But fire suits aren’t all bad news: they

also appear to insulate the body against

high cabin temperatures, which arise

from the engine and gearbox radiating

heat through the firewall and floor

which have no insulation, in addition to

any hot weather.

Drivers swallow a thermometer

pill, which transmits a signal every 10

seconds to a wireless data logger, to

measure their body temperature.

The small pill must be swallowed two

to four hours before any measurements

are taken to be accurate, as this allows

enough time for the pill to move into

the intestines. If the pill is still in the

stomach, the measured temperature is

affected when drivers eat or drink.

The pills are designed to be single

use only for obvious reasons, but

enable researchers to collect hours of

important data while the pill is in the

digestive tract. (It has been known for

some athletes from other disciplines to

attempt to hand their pills back.)

Motorsport athletes are at a similar

risk of heat exhaustion as triathletes.

Though exercising for a considerably

longer period of time, eight hours or

more, the average core temperature

of a group of Ironman triathletes was

38.1C when the outside temperature

was 23.3C.The physical workload on drivers is

very high; particularly the leg and trunk

strength required for braking, and arm

and shoulder strength required for

steering and gear changes. That means

overheating is as much a problem for

open-wheel drivers as tin-tops.

The heat at the Clipsal 500 tests

drivers every year. Temperatures

peaked on Friday this year, with teams

using a variety of options to cope

including NACA ducts, vents, air flow,

cool suits and drink bottles. Liquid is

piped through the cool suits, and is

kept cold in an esky packed with dry ice

in the vehicle.As Dr Allen notes, “Culture in AFL

has changed where physical well-being,

MOTORSPORT ATHLETES ARE AT A

SIMILAR RISK OF HEAT EXHAUSTION

AS TRIATHLETES [LIKE IRONMEN]

A V8 SUPERCAR DRIVER

CAN ENDURE 54C HEAT AND

A BUILD-UP OF POISONOUS

GAS IN HIS BLOODSTREAM

HE CAN DEVELOP HYPERTHERMIA, WHICH

CAN SEVERELY AFFECT HIS

REACTION TIMESHE CAN LOSE MORE THAN

A LITRE OF FLUID EACH

HOUR HE SPENDS IN HIS

FIREPROOF RACESUIT

SPORTS SCIENTIST JODI RICHARDSON INVESTIGATES

HOT ZONEIN THE

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Tracking how the core body temperature of a V8 Supercar driver increases as

cabin temperature increases to potentially dangerous levels

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Shane Price needs to towel down after

the Darwin round this year

Sometimes a shower is all you can do

Will Davison at Hidden Valley ’07: it

gets hot behind that wheel

Bowe’s strategy at Clipsal, since

dropped: like an ice-cream headache

Whincup endured Clipsal without

cooling aids

performance enhancement strategies

and injury prevention are now being

considerations for teams. In motorsport

there never used to be a consideration

for driver health and well-being,

performance and safety but that seems

to be changing.”

Some teams toughed it out, like Triple

Eight and Jack Daniel’s cars. Jamie

Whincup said: “It’s the team’s choice

but I feel really bad with no cool suit or

vents in the window.”

Cameron McConville drank up to five

litres of liquid during the race, showing

how dehydrated he got. Jason Bright’s

cool suit and drink bottle both failed

during race one. This isn’t just a matter

of feeling thirsty, as Steve Owen’s crash

in 2006 showed (see breakout).

Research from Matt Brearley and

James Finn, of the Northern Territory

Institute of Sport, showed that V8

Supercar drivers sweat approximately 1.1

litres per hour during races, calculated

by weighing them during races.

But they think this figure could be

artificially low because drivers were

racing less than half the analysis time,

spending the remainder resting while

out of the car and sitting idle on the grid.

Rehydration is vital because the

triple-layer racesuit makes them sweat

more, and cuts their ability to cool down.

Dehydration can cause blood

pressure to drop significantly which can

lead to dizziness and fainting.

To keep hydrated, drivers typically

drink a diluted electrolyte replacement

drink while racing, through a plastic

hose fed into their helmets.

And researchers have noted that

fluids are usually consumed on straight

sections of the track as cornering

requires muscle contractions that

increase abdominal pressure, limiting a

driver’s ability to drink.

Though an electrolyte replacement

drink is best to counter the effects of

dehydration, it is possible that many

drivers are tempted to consume energy

drinks as well in an effort to boost their

alertness and concentration.

Research published in 2001 showed

taking an energy drink improved

reaction time, concentration, memory

and alertness in study participants.

These results are likely to reflect the

effects of the combination of ingredients

in many energy drinks including taurine,

caffeine and vitamins. This research

also showed that taking the energy drink

increased aerobic endurance by nine

per cent, and anaerobic endurance by

up to 24 per cent.

Other research has shown that when

two cans of energy drink were given to

sleep deprived participants in a driving

study, both lane drifting and reaction

time were reduced improving driving

performance. These improvements

were evident about 30 minutes after

consumption of the drink and lasted

around an hour.

But drivers should be careful, as

there are reports of negative side effects

associated with their consumption.

Caffeine is a stimulant and has effects

on the heart, by increasing the amount

of blood pumped with each heart beat

and increasing heart rate.

The amount of caffeine in many

energy drinks is about that found in

an average-strength cup of coffee, but

consumers often drink multiple cans

over a period of time.

Drivers would be wise to weigh

up the use of energy drinks against

electrolyte replacement drinks for

rehydration, or the expected benefits

could be counteracted. Energy drinks

are not formulated for re-hydration

and although they may increase driver

alertness, concentration and endurance,

if drivers are not adequately rehydrated,

the effects of dehydration could affect

their performance.

Work is ongoing on the best way to

cool drivers during the race itself. At

Bahrain, Whincup and Lowndes used

cool suits aklong with a cool gel ‘collar’

(red with Vodafone logo) to help lower

their temperature when they leave the

car. Other strategies include pre-cooling

the drivers with cooling jackets, sitting

them in freezer rooms, dunking them in

cold baths, or preloading the body with

fluids using an intravenous drip.

“[Cool suits] make a big difference,”

Garth Tander tells Auto Action.

“Otherwise you’d be buggered at the

end of the race.”

But John Bowe’s balaclava (pictured)

at Clipsal, a kind of ‘cool helmet’,

appears to have been a step too far. “I

stopped using the balaclava,” he says, in

Bahrain, “because it’s too cold. It’s a bit

like eating an ice cream [too quickly] – it

freezes your brain!”

Some teams in NASCAR racing use

cool filtered air for drivers to breathe

though. This is more useful in removing

the hazardous carbon monoxide gas

from the air, though, rather than cooling

the driver down.

Carbon monoxide, a by-product of

incomplete combustion, has up to 250

times the attraction for haemoglobin

than oxygen in blood.

This means the body can’t carry and

deliver as much oxygen, which could

ultimately affect driver responsiveness

and vehicle control.

THE AUTHORS OF ONE STUDY CONCLUDED

HEAT PLUS CARBON MONOXIDE COULD

EASILY AFFECT DRIVER PERFORMANCE

A study into carbon monoxide

poisoning concluded that low-level

exposure saw significant dysfunctions

in memory, attention, concentration,

tracking skills, vision and motor skills; a

collection of skills essential to the safe

handling of a racecar.

Research conducted at the University

of Western Australia concluded that

lengthy exposure to heat and carbon

monoxide could substantially affect

driver performance.

High heat and high blood

carboxyhaemoglobin levels resulting

from carbon monoxide exposure led to

significantly greater driver error, sweat

loss and core temperature increases

when compared with the heat only (50C)

and cool (20C) conditions.

Elevated carbon monoxide levels can

build within track walls from car exhaust

fumes and enter vehicles directly

through air vents and damaged panels.

I reckon they’re a problem when

you’re running close behind another

car,” says John Bowe.

“It makes my eyes run. But, again,

you really only notice it during a Safety

Car period. It’s much worse on a street

circuit.”Unlike the modern road car,

there is currently no requirement

for V8 Supercars to run catalytic

converters to filter exhaust gases.

Not surprisingly preliminary data has

indicated significant levels of blood

carboxyhaemoglobin in V8 Supercar

drivers after endurance races.

Chronic carbon monoxide exposure

describes circumstances where patients

are exposed to the gas on more than one

occasion. Symptoms include anorexia,

nausea, weight loss, apathy, fatigability,

headache, dizziness, insomnia,

personality disturbance, palpitations,

impaired memory, diminished tolerance

to alcohol and impaired libido.

The authors of one study concluded

heat plus carbon monoxide could easily

affect driver performance, particularly

later on in the race. And research

has shown that the effects of carbon

monoxide poisoning last even when all

the gas has gone from the blood.

“Given the amount of money and

human resources spent on the vehicle, it

seems surprising that the teams are not

spending more on getting the absolute

best out of their drivers.

“It is relatively a lot cheaper to

optimise the driver than it is to optimise

the vehicle,” says Dr Allen. “The car is

nothing without the driver.”

Additional reporting: Mark Fogarty in

Bahrain

STEVE OWEN: his Clipsal ’06 crash

AUTOBARN RACING’S Steve Owen crashed at Adelaide’s notorious Turn Eight in 2006

after passing out behind the wheel of his Commodore. Owen had succumbed to the

heat on a scorching Adelaide day and was lucky to escape unhurt.

“The last thing I remember was the Safety Car [for James Courtney’s crash]. And

that was probably about eight or 10 laps before my crash,”Owen told Auto Action.

“I knew I was struggling, but I don’t remember much of then and I certainly don’t

remember the crash. [Cameron] McConville was telling me when he was behind me

that he saw something was wrong heading into Turn Eight. I’d obviously rolled off the

throttle and was just wobbling over towards the wall. Obviously I’d passed out…

“The coolsuit didn’t work. The drink bottle was two litres but it was really hot.

The pedals were about 91C. It was the first time we’d run that car. We knew it was

a hot car because of the way it was built – unfortunately the first time we ran it for

more than 15 laps was in the race. So we found the hard way that it’s not just hot, it’s

extremely hot… “

Skaife showing the effects of winning a

race in the NT heat

Steve Owen passed out in a race at

Clipsal ’06 from heat exhaustion

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Drivers’ core body temperature was raised to dangerous levels in most of the eight

races measured by researchers during the 2005 and ’06 V8 Supercar seasons

THE HUMAN PERFORMANCESPECIALISTGLENN LINDSAY is FPR’s man for all

things fitness-related, charged with

getting the best out of drivers Mark

Winterbottom and Steven Richards;

hence the title Human Performance

Specialist.He’s well credentialled too, with stints

at Jordan and the British Olympic swim

team. But while he’s conscious of the

extreme conditions his drivers face at

places like Adelaide, Darwin and Bahrain,

he says they don’t specifically train for

such conditions.

“We’d hope that at this stage of the

season that they’re as fit as they’re

going to get,” he says, before adding that

hydration is one of the biggest issues

drivers face.“You want to give them an electrolyte

solution rather than just water because

they’re sweating so much.

“It’s not just about when they’re in

the cars. They’re also sweating in the

paddock. So it’s about keeping them

hydrated all the time. I’ve just got to keep

them sipping away and also fuelled up.

It’s not just drinking, but eating, too.

“My job’s not just about maximising

their performance – it’s also about

minimising their stress.”

He reveals that some Formula One

drivers train in a heat chamber which

simulates the extreme temperature and

humidity conditions drivers can face.

He says V8 drivers can face in-cockpit

temperature is at least 60-70C at hot

events – Adelaide, Darwin, Indy and

Bahrain (this year) as well as the ever

present threat of carbon monoxide

poisoning. FPR has put a lot of work into

cockpit ventilation to clear fumes. The

team also has 100 per cent oxygen on

hand if drivers need it after a race.

“Ventilation is very important,” he says.

“It’s paramount for the drivers.” MF