Karting Safety

[Tony_Simpson]

For the record another karter has been seriously injured at Buckmore Park yesterday (12th) in the EasyKart race. He was taken away in an ambulance in a critical condition. i will not elaborate what i saw on the day. i did not see the incident but only the result.

I was there racing for club100, and i respect that both Club100 and EasyKart webiste as of yet have not mentioned anything about this incident. we all awaite the official response on the incident.

My thoughts are with him and his family.

[Gilles lives!]

Originally Posted by Tony_Simpson

For the record another karter has been seriously injured at Buckmore Park yesterday (12th) in the EasyKart race. He was taken away in an ambulance in a critical condition. i will not elaborate what i saw on the day. i did not see the incident but only the result.

I was there racing for club100, and i respect that both Club100 and EasyKart webiste as of yet have not mentioned anything about this incident. we all awaite the official response on the incident.

My thoughts are with him and his family.

That is bad news, I am local to Buckmore and noticed that there was racing on Saturday afternoon in the dark.

Let's all hope for the best.

[davyboy]

Oh no, that's very worrying. I really hope the guy's OK. We're suffering a pretty sad time in karting at the moment with these incidents. Let's hope that there's no more.

[mrsweety]

This is bad news....

If you've ever driven gearbox karts you'll know there's nothing like them, if your a racer/driver they offer so much for the money.

After latest news I'm afraid I may step out of these myself and look at single seaters, I've just had a little girl and am starting to think about the risks more.

Don't let the above put you off!! they are stunning machines to drive, just be very aware these are not toys.

Sorry to the chap above for my comments, was a little upset, as a driver it always hit's you hard when things like this happen and stopping something I love will be very hard! indeed.

Thanks

Andy

[ghinzani]

Apparently the accident at Buckmore was fatal, very sad news. Do the guys in the Easykart and Club100 races need MSA licences?

[mrsweety]

Originally Posted by ghinzani

Apparently the accident at Buckmore was fatal, very sad news. Do the guys in the Easykart and Club100 races need MSA licences?

Is there any news on this anywhere?

Poor chap and family, sad news again..

[spider]

I have many karting friends taking part in Easykart, and with the news just getting to me on this forum and with Buckmore and C100 forums down, please can someone if nothing more pm me asap.

[davyboy]

Oh my God... that is truely dreadful. This is shocking news that none of us wanted to hear this morning. I'm sure most of my fellow karters are as shocked and upset as I am over this. My deepest sympathies to the guy's family.

Drivers in Club 100 and Easykart do not need MSA licenses.

[spider]

i stopped working for playscape/club100 in feb and know how hard this will hit everyone in the 'family' of drivers in both clubs. So tragic. do we know who the driver was? Heartfelt sympathies go out to the family of the driver.

[jimbomit]

Originally Posted by Jonas

I´ve had some wonderings in what kind of helmet to use, when driving a long circuit kart. At moment I use an Arai Gp5 car helmet.

Car helmets are as far as I understand are made to absorb energy and brake after one really hard hit (like when hitting the steering wheel, roll cage etc).

Motorcycle helmets on the other hand as far as I understand are made to withstand several hits, like when your are thrown clear from the bike and tumbling.

My comclusion is that if I use a car helmet and are thrown out of the kart the helmet is likely to crack after the first hit, and leave no protection for the other hits you get when you´re tumbling. However using a motorcycle helmet and having a head-on may result in a more intact helmet letting the head take all the force.


What do you think?

I was led to believe something slightly different.

Car racing helments are designed to absorb point impacts such as hitting a steering wheel or roll bar. They won't necessarily break after one large impact but the way they dissipate the energy means that they need to be thrown away as the construction will lose it's integrity having performed its duty!

Bike helmets are constructed to take a scrapping incident as the rider is likely to run for quite a distance along the ground.

Only what I heard but certainly use what is best suited to your sport.

[Jonas]

Intresting points. They sound fair I must say.

[Robin_D]

That is really crap news from Buckmore guys.

I'm not aware of the circumstances of this accident and I'm sure it was just freak just like the Silverstone one.

Maybe now someone will look at safety? But I'm not sure they could improve it without taking the novelty factor.

My thoughts are with the family and friends of the Buckmore Park driver.

BTW the driver of the Superkart driver has been named on the SUperkart website as Richard Weavers.

RIP Richard.

[Kieran20]

again more tragic news, especially at a track a race at, slighlty worrying. i heard this incident was triggered by the new kerbs but dnt hold me to this its only what ive been told.

[trevisio]

Club 100 and Easykart are 2 different organisations

Speculation about what caused the Easykart crash is best avoided on a public forum.

The police were at Buckmore on Sunday taking statements from witnesses. That is the only way to find the truth about the crash.

[spider]

Very true, as with all the forums discussing this incident lets all be very careful about what is said. C100, ACR and Buckmore will circulate a press release when all facts are gathered and the time is appropriate.

C100 is the organiser of the Easykart UK races, with ACR distributing the karts.

A tragic event.

[Robin_D]

Seems like a tragic year for Karting.

Without sounding disrespectful, roll on 2007.

[Tony_Simpson]

Club 100 drivers do not need MSA licenses, and for these first few winter races for EasyKart they do not need them either. For the full 2007 championship the easyKart racers will need an MSA license.

Club 100 usual run into night time conditions at this time of year. We run up to 6pm (they try and get us to finish earlier), so will race with the lights on.

I believe it is Kart Racing Promotions that is an off shoot of Club100 that organise the EasyKarts.

A great shame and a massive shock to everyone who is involved with either organisation, racer or spectator.

Thoughts are with the family and close friends of this driver.

[Gilles lives!]

Terrible news for all those involved, I heard locally this afternoon.

[pts106]

Originally Posted by jimbomit

I was led to believe something slightly different.

Car racing helments are designed to absorb point impacts such as hitting a steering wheel or roll bar. They won't necessarily break after one large impact but the way they dissipate the energy means that they need to be thrown away as the construction will lose it's integrity having performed its duty!

Bike helmets are constructed to take a scrapping incident as the rider is likely to run for quite a distance along the ground.

Only what I heard but certainly use what is best suited to your sport.

I've read on the UK superkart site that bike helmets are not allowed in superkarts.

http://www.superkart.org.uk/content/....htm#Equipment

I don't know what the real technical and safety issues are, but I've found that when I wear one of my bike helmets when driving the kart my vision becomes obscured under hard acceleration by the nose / chin guard. The nose piece kinda gets in the way of your line of sight when your head is thrown back. When I wear a car helmet riding one of my superbikes the opposite is true. The helmet obscures my view over my forehead.

Different driving positions requires different fields of view, so the facial "cut out" of car vs bike helmets should be different?

Just a thought.

[ghinzani]

With reference to last Sundays fatal accident at Buckmore Park, this statement was on karting.co.uk:

"Kart Racing Promotions Ltd in association with Club100 confirm that during an owner/driver Easykart race organised by ourselves and held at Buckmore Park Kart Circuit on Sunday 12th November, a collision occurred between two drivers which resulted in Adam Goatley, a 29 year old from Sidcup suffering serious injuries which resulted in his death at Medway Maritime Hospital later in the day.

Police Officers from West Kent attended the scene of the collision and a full report into the collision is being compiled. Health and Safety officers at Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council were informed, as was the Medway Coroner.

Kart Racing Promotions Ltd in association with Club100 offer their sincere condolences to Adam's family and friends at this tragic time.”

[Rockmunky]

I think everyone is aware of the danger, otherwise they shouldn't really be racing, or marshalling.
Just like any other (motor)sport, freak accidents can and do happen.

I've been marshalling karts for about 6months regularly now, and everytime there's been a red flag, and the ambulance comes out, the driver is fine, albeit slightly shaken and a bit winded.

I haven't seen anyone thrown out (yet), but i'm guessing there isn't any different from flopping off your bike, and sliding through the gravel.