The FIA Institute has won the 2008 Professional Motorsport World award for its work in improving side-impact protection in rallying.

The Safety Innovation of the Year award marks the development of the FIA Institute’s Advanced Side Impact System, which was introduced into the FIA World Rally Championship this season. The award was presented to project manager Andy Mellor at the Professional Motorsport World Gala Dinner on 11 November 2008 in Cologne.

Professor Sid Watkins, FIA Institute President, said: “This award recognises the hard work and dedication that has led to the design and implementation of this latest safety technology. I’m delighted that the work of the FIA Institute, the Closed Car Research Group and the manufacturers has led to the introduction of a protection system that will hugely reduce the consequences of side impact accidents.”

The system, which involves a number of new safety components, has been introduced in phases this season to help teams to incorporate each component into the design of their cars.

The first phase, introduced at start of the 2008 season, involved the creation of a mandatory 200mm space, filled with high-efficiency, energy absorbing material, between the door and the seat. This provides a critical survival space that helps minimise the energy and forces on the body of the occupant in the event of a collision.

At the recent Rally Japan, the FIA Institute introduced its latest specification high performance racing seat, which is an integral part of the side impact safety system. It has improved strength and support during rear impacts, and maximises pelvis, shoulder and head protection during side impacts by spreading the load evenly through the occupant’s body.

The seat brackets and belt positions have been specified to create optimised belt strap geometry and angles which ensure the torso is efficiently and equally restrained by each of the straps of the safety harness. A high-g sled test, together with full-scale vehicle testing, has demonstrated that a high velocity 100g side impact could be survived without serious injury.

The FIA Institute will continue to work with the teams next season on installation of yet more components of the side impact safety system. The next priority will be a load spreading door system that will increase the strength of the car in the region of the front doors and reduce intrusion during a side impact accident. Work is also ongoing to develop a racing net that is complementary to the new FIA racing seat standard.