OLSON
SERIOUSLY INJURED ONE WEEK BEFORE
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For Immediate Release
American racer Pete Olson doesn’t make excuses.
Most people would lie in bed for a week after
losing a half-inch wide section of one rib.
But to racer Pete Olson, this is part of the game.
In a Rotax professional
kart racing practice last Saturday, Olson was putting his kart up on two
wheels, airborne, while driving over kerbing at speeds of over 140kph
(80mph). During the painful practice
session, he felt a stabbing pain in his ribcage but refused to pull into the
pits. “I never pass up a chance to turn
another lap” said Olson today from his apartment in
Little did Olson know that the repeated impacts of
an ill-fitting fiberglass seat were slowly fracturing one of his ribs, to the
point where a section of one of his ribs was completely broken off.
“It felt like a knife in my side, but I have driven
with a lot of pain before, and I have learned to accept it and drive through
it. But by the time I had turned 50 or
60 laps I realized there was something seriously wrong and that I had better
pit! [Laughs]. At one point I was actually passed when
I made a mistake, and it infuriated me.
There was no way I was going to get off the track before I showed the
guy who’s the fastest.”
By Saturday night Olson had to be physically
assisted in order to walk. A visit to
the military hospital in Shida,
The American racer refused painkillers in the fear
that it will slow down his reactions for the big race next weekend, and has
made an admirable effort in the short time he has to recover the little that he
can before Round 3 and 4 of the famous Formula Renault Championship. But did the American racer’s ego get in the
way of common sense? After all, what
motivates a professional racer to drive to the point that he will accept
extreme pain as “Part of the game”?
“People wouldn’t think it was strange if I was in
the NBA and playing with a torn muscle, would they?” said Olson. “Many people think that you get in a race car
and drive it like you would drive fast on the highway. But out there you are not pushing 3 G’s and
265kph [160mph] in a turn, making yourself dizzy from the loss of blood to your
brain. In racing, there are certain
things you have to cope with, if you want to win.”
Last year, Formula Renault fans witnessed the first
fatality in Formula Renault racing when a South American driver’s car
disintegrated at more than 265kph upon hitting the wall at
“When you are on the limit, the ragged edge all the
time, of course there is some danger” said Olson. “But this is something that you must accept,
or just quit it and don’t do it anymore.
Of course, in racing I have met people who have decided that it wasn’t
worth it, wasn’t worth the risks, and they quit. But I love what I do and this is my
profession, and the danger is part of the thrill that you get from racing,
isn’t it? When I am really pushing the
car, it is like a dream. I feel every
sensation from the vehicle, and the car becomes an extension of my body. If you focus on the danger of racing, you
will not drive well. All my life people
have told me I drive like a madman, on the street and on the track. Maybe I’ll meet my maker after hitting some
wall on some track somewhere, but I’ll tell you something else – what I do makes me feel alive.”
Quite a statement from Olson, who has no intention
of canceling his pro race next week after his painful injury.
We wish him the best of luck in
For more information on Peter Olson, visit his
website at www.peteolson.com.
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Charles Schepens
Schepens
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