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The Manor Marussia team have had their entry to the 2015
championship confirmed by the FIA.
The team have no official link to the old Marussia owners,
who folded last year with about 200 staff losing their
jobs. They have retained the name in order to qualify for
the commercial rights income they earned last year. By
finishing in ninth place in last year’s world championship -
courtesy of Jules Bianchi’s two points earned from a ninth
place in Monaco - Marussia secured around £30million in
prize revenue for this season.
The new Manor owners have been discussing with the FIA
for weeks to negotiate the return, as they tried to convince
the sport’s governing body that the infrastructure was fully
in place for the late comeback.
Will Stevens was named as the team’s first driver for the
new season, with the second yet to be revealed.
It has been revealed that the main investor behind the
Manor Marussia team is Stephen Fitzpatrick, the boss of
energy firm Ovo.
MARUSSIA F1 TEAM FOLDS;
MANOR MARUSSIA RISES FROM THE ASHES
SPORTS
SHORTS
SARACENS TRIAL NEW IMPACT-MEASURING DEVICE TO MONITOR CONCUSSION
In January Saracens players wore impact sensors behind
their ears in a match against London Irish as they
launched a new concussion research programme.
The device, called the xPatch and produced by a US
company, measures the size and angle of hits to the head.
“We don’t want to meet our players in 20 years’ time
to find them suffering from dementia and reflect we
suspected something was going on but didn’t really
know,” said Edward Griffiths, the Saracens chief
executive.
Concussion is an issue of concern in rugby, with many
retired players and medical experts warning that
repeated impacts during a player’s career may cause
profound health issues later in life.
Former England players Shontayne Hape and Michael
Lipman are among those who have been forced to
retire because of the effects of concussion, with Hape
complaining of “depression, constant migraines and
memory loss”.
The International Rugby Board introduced an enhanced
Head Injury Assessment (HIA) protocol last June in an
effort to improve player safety.
Saracens players will wear the patches, made by Seattle-
based X2 Biosystems, in matches and training sessions.
The patches can then be removed and the data uploaded
to a computer, where it will be logged.
Griffiths added: “We aspire to be a club that genuinely
looks after its players, and nothing is more important
than their medium and long term welfare.
“The findings will be reported in due course.”
© 2013 Morio
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ISSUE 20 | MARCH 2015