ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – The addition of Aero Kits to the Verizon IndyCar Series season created a lot of debris in Sunday’s season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. One of the Aero Kit pieces that came off a car launched over the fence and injured a spectator in Sunday’s race.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, Brigitte Hoffstetter was struck by a piece of carbon fiber from one of the IndyCars as she was walking in Turn 10 concession stand area – about 100 yards from the track. She was struck in the head and suffered a fractured skull, according to the Tampa Bay Times report.
She was treated on site before being sent to Bayfront Health for stitches and remained in the trauma unit Monday evening. Her husband said doctors expect her to recover.
INDYCAR issued a statement on the incident on Tuesday.
“The safety of INDYCAR’s fans and participants is of the highest priority. The series is investigating an incident where a spectator was injured at St. Petersburg on March 29. This process is consistent with INDYCAR’s procedure following all race incidents and part of its persistent effort to make safety improvements. INDYCAR wishes the spectator well and hopes for a speedy recovery.”
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