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ADELAIDE - It will take some time to determine why a major crash at the Clipsal 500 caused life threatening injuries to driver Ashley Cooper at the weekend, with others walking away from similar incidents, race officials say.
Race spokesman Mike Drewer said Cooper remained on life support in the Royal Adelaide Hospital today, following a 200km/h accident on the demanding street circuit on Saturday morning.
The 27-year-old was driving in the Fujitsu series, a V8 Supercar support category, when he slammed into a concrete barrier on the driver's side of the vehicle before careering across the track and hitting another barrier with the back-end.
The father of two from Ulladulla on the New South Wales south coast was left with severe head trauma, brain swelling and serious internal injuries.
"There have been numerous cars hit the wall heavily in that area and most drivers walk away," Drewer told ABC radio.
"But Ashley Cooper is fighting for his life."
Drewer said his initial reaction was that while it was a very bad accident, he had seen similar crashes without the same serious consequences.
"It won't be until the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport go through and analyse it as to why the result, in terms of the health of the driver, should be so much different," he said.
"All the cars, in terms of their safety equipment are the same in all cars and for all drivers.
"Why this one should have resulted in what are obviously quite terrible injuries, we simply don't know."
As well as Cooper, three drivers in the V8 Ute category were also rushed to hospital yesterday in another crash.
One of those, Matt Kingsley, 23, remained in a serious condition today although he was reported to be improving.
The incidents raised questions about the experience of some drivers competing on the demanding street circuit in the centre of Adelaide.
Drewer said while street circuits were less forgiving than dedicated race tracks, it was not just an issue of experience.
"If experience is simply a matter of the number of years you've been driving, I don't think that equates directly," he said.
- AAP
