Champion driver is fit, to be sure, but also knows there is benefit in moderation source: Mercury News - By Mark Emmons Sebastien Bourdais, during a visit to San Jose last month, was explaining why a race-car driver needs to be in good shape. His workout regimen gives him the endurance and strength to handle a vehicle that can zoom faster than 200 mph. Oh, and there's another reason: just in case a car lands on top of your head. It's a good thing Bourdais takes his training seriously, because that's exactly what happened two weeks later, when he was in a frightening crash at the Grand Prix of Cleveland. Paul Tracy went airborne and landed on Bourdais' car, leaving tire marks on his helmet. Bourdais, the defending San Jose Grand Prix champion, said his body ``was the shock absorber'' for Tracy's car. Yet he somehow managed to emerge with little more than a headache after being temporarily knocked unconscious. This is exactly the kind of what-if scenario that makes him train so hard. ''Accidents are when you really need to be fit,'' he said before the crash. If your muscles can tighten very hard and protect your spinal cord, there is a better chance you might make it through without serious injury or getting paralyzed. If you are soft, there's a very good chance that you're going to get hurt.''
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