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Dr Ronald Denis wears his Grand Prix hobby
on his sleeve
Photo credit: Liam
Maloney
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When those F1 engines rev up
for the Canadian Grand Prix, the memories will hit Dr
Ronald Denis as hard as the noxious gas fumes. In his
17 years volunteering as physician to the event, he's
seen some pretty spectacular accidents. But the most memorable
incidents weren't necessarily the goriest.
There was that Ferrari driver (who
shall remain nameless) who broke his toe. "The media
blew it up into this big thing, like he was seriously
injured," recalls Dr Denis. "Then four women all came
in claiming to be his wife and wanting to visit him."
The physician quickly realized
diplomacy would have to trump medical know-how in this
case. "I said to each one of them: 'Madame, your husband
will be just fine.'"
When he's not in the pit, Dr Denis
works as head of traumatology at Sacré-Coeur
Hospital in Montreal. He's been a member of the racetrack
medical team since 1989 and is now Associate Physician
in Chief for the Grand Prix, the only Formula One event
in North America. In all that time, there hasn't actually
been a single life-threatening accident. "Thank God,"
Dr Denis says.
 But
that's not to say that nothing ever happens. The worst
crash in recent memory was in 1997 when driver Olivier
Panis broke both his legs. "It was a nasty break, but
he had a doctor in France who phoned and was insisting
that I wasn't to touch him until he'd had a look at
it. Well, I was there with the bone sticking out at
me, and finally I handed the phone to Olivier and he
said, 'Let them fix my leg!' So we went ahead and let
Dr Pierre Ranger do the surgery." The accident was devastating
for the driver, whose star was rising after he'd won
the Monaco Grand Prix the year before, and he never
really recovered his status.After the incident, the
two became good friends. Mr Panis comes to stay with
Dr Denis' family every year and they go fishing together.
Sounds pretty tame, but the doctor admits his good friend
doesn't exactly forfeit his superstar lifestyle when
they're 'roughing it.' "One time, we went trout fishing
in this little lake in northern Quebec," recalls Dr
Denis, "and he wanted to make sure he caught something."
So his friend, the late Yvon Plante, owner of the Auberge
Sacacomie — a kind of fishing resort for the stars
— arranged for a truckload of trout to be brought
in to stock the lake. So did he catch any? "You couldn't
help but catch something," laughs Dr Denis. "Everywhere
you looked, there were trout. You could practically
walk on them. It was quite something."
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Dr Ronald Denis: life in the fast lane
Photo credit: Liam
Maloney
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FAMILIES
AND DIVAS
His interest in Formula One racing was born of another
good friendship. While he was in med school at the University
of Montreal his senior resident and fellow sports enthusiast,
Dr Jacques Bouchard, introduced him to the high octane
sport. "He encouraged me to volunteer in the first place."
Their friendship remains one of the perks of the job
for Dr Denis. "It's great being out on the track all
day with your best friend," he says.
"It's great it's like a family
reunion. You have about 100 people doctors, nurses,
paramedics volunteering, from as far away as Texas.
A lot of the same people come back year after year,
so it's really a lot of fun to see them."
But besides the odd fishing trip
with Mr Panis, Dr Denis steers clear of the F1 fast
lane. "These guys are treated like rock stars," he says.
"Some of them are real divas. They have to have their
rooms a certain way, stocked with only a certain kind
of bottled water. They go out all the time and party
in expensive clubs."
There are a few exceptions to the
rule. "Damon Hill has a child with Down's syndrome,
and he's really a family man, he has real values. I
remember one time, he saw another driver blow off a
disabled girl who was asking for an autograph, and he
took her under his wing and treated her like a queen
all day long."
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