Felix Rosenqvist said he was sore but « doing OK » following a wall-smashing crash Saturday early in the IndyCar race on Belle Isle.
Dr. Geoffrey Billows, IndyCar’s director of medical services, said Rosenqvist suffered « no life- or limb-threatening injuries » and will remain at Detroit Receiving Hospital overnight for observation.
I’m doing ok, except alot of soreness! Thanks for all the messages and to the @IndyCar medical staff for looking after me. What a race we had going til that point, bummer… Big congrats to @Ericsson_Marcus on his first W, happy for you bro ?? https://t.co/ue9AxWpxCP
— Felix Rosenqvist (@FRosenqvist) June 13, 2021
The throttle appeared to stick in Rosenqvist’s car as he entered the sixth turn at the Raceway at Belle Isle Park. With no way to stop or slow his car, the Swede slammed into a tire barrier with enough force to move the retaining wall.
Some of the tires even went over the wall, and Rosenqvist’s car was stuck nose up at a nearly 45-degree angle jammed into the scattered tire barrier. He seemed to struggle to catch his breath, and IndyCar’s safety team placed Rosenqvist in a neck brace while extricating him.
The race was red-flagged for 78 minutes for the wall to be rebuilt — even Penske Corp. President Bud Denker was on the track restacking tires and inspecting the damaged wall — and Rosenqvist was at first taken to the track’s medical center.
He was later transported to Detroit Receiving Hospital for advanced imaging and evaluation.
« Felix was conscious the entire time, talking the entire time, and he’s having some soreness, » Billows said. « He had no loss of sensation anywhere or loss of function, and we were able to get him out of the car. »
Billows added that IndyCar’s preliminary evaluation of Rosenqvist did not reveal any « muscular or skeletal damage. »
Marcus Ericsson won Saturday’s race for his first IndyCar victory. The series completes the doubleheader on Belle Isle on Sunday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
https://www.espn.com/racing/story/_/id/31619834/felix-rosenqvist-taken-hospital-scary-indycar-crash-wall
