1.45pm
A battered Scott Dixon was nursing broken bones in his hand today but was still confident of lining up in the big Indianapolis 500 motor race next month.
The New Zealand driver escaped the worst smash of his career on Sunday with just two broken bones in his hand and a
fractured wrist.
Dixon and Tony Kanaan's cars clipped each other on lap 177 of the Indy Japan 300 in Motegi, sending both vehicles hurtling into the wall at more than 320km/h.
Both cars were destroyed but Dixon, 22, was initially diagnosed with just a sprained wrist.
On return to his Indianapolis base today he underwent x-rays which diagnosed the fractures.
"The wrist's a little sore, but so is my whole body," an upbeat Dixon said.
"But it could have been a lot worse. I'm looking forward to getting back on the track when the month of May gets underway."
Early indications are that Dixon would be able to compete in the 87th running of the Indy 500 on May 25, meaning he may not miss any races in the series.
The crash caused panic in the Dixon household in Auckland where they were watching the race live on television.
"It was huge. I just broke down," Dixon's mother Glenys said.
"The worst thing was to see him not moving. Usually they raise their visor or do something, but that really frightened me when I saw no movement.
"Then when he stood up I could see there was a problem, and he collapsed when he got out. It was pretty scary."
The impact of the crash was "one of the most violent impacts that I have ever seen" Mike King, the Indy Racing Radio Network commentator, said.
Dixon was vying for the lead when the crash happened, having been in front for 45 laps. He has led at least one lap in all three events so far this season.
He won the first race of the season in Homestead, Florida and remains the youngest winner in major open-wheel racing history.
- NZPA
