Safety in motorsport is practically a given these days, the rare instances were a driver is injured or killed—as recently happened to Formula 2 driver Anthoine Hubert—is truly the exception and leaves the motorsport community shocked to the core.
This is a very different state of affairs to what used to be the norm back in the ’60s when taking part in a motorsport event could often result in horrendous life-altering injuries and often death. The uninterested medical community and prevailing macho culture of the time hindered any attempts at improving the drivers’ safety and it was against this backdrop that medical student Stephen Olvey came to realize that major changes had to be made. Having experienced the basically non-existent medical support provided to drivers while volunteering on the medical team at the 1966 Indy 500, once he became a doctor he made it his mission to transform motorsport safety.
Over the next 30 years, Dr Olvey and his team proceeded to develop medical methods and techniques that did just that, and in the process their work has also influenced modern trauma medicine as well the US military and NASA. He authored a book titled ‘Rapid Response: My inside story as a motor racing life-saver’, which chronicled Olvey’s journey. Now filmmakers Michael Miles and Roger Hinze are releasing a fast-paced documentary based on his experiences.
Co-director Michael Miles said, “Rapid Response has been a passion project of mine as both a documentary filmmaker and motorsports fan for years. My partner, Roger Hinze, and I could not be any more proud of the film. This is a movie not only for motorsports fans but for all audiences. This a true story told by the men who changed the culture of an entire sport through the application of science. They are true heroes who saved countless lives.
“Dr Olvey and Dr Trammell are men that any parent would be proud to have their child emulate. Rapid Response follows their lives’ work in motorsports to the scene of the accident, to the operating room, and to the labs where they did research that changed racing and pioneered safety methods that have trickled down into the cars we drive today.”
Rapid Response will be in UK cinemas from 6 September and promises to be an unmissable documentary with a message that is as relevant as ever.
Images courtesy of Rapid Response
