Quote from BBC News :

A kart racing driver was killed when he was thrown from his vehicle as it hit a crash barrier at the Silverstone race track in Northamptonshire.

The man was thrown clear of the kart in the accident during the final round of the 2006 British Superkart Championships on Sunday afternoon.

He was then hit by a chasing kart at the entrance to the Luffield hairpin.

The man, who was in his 50s and described as a very experienced driver, has not yet been named.

'Shocked'

Ian Rushforth, the series co-ordinator of the British Superkarts Association, said the driver had been racing in the fastest class.

He said other drivers had been left shocked by the accident but the sport itself had an excellent safety record.

"Within the Superkart fraternity there are about 150 of us and we see the guys week in and week out. It is almost family," he said.

"Because we are a tight-knit family we always feel it."

Northamptonshire Police traffic officers are investigating the crash.

The two metre-long 250cc karts are capable of speeds up to 150mph.

Drivers sit low down in the cramped compartments, but are not strapped in by seatbelts.

Haven't heard of a karting death in the UK for a long time. Tragic circumstances to be hit by another driver

Very sad , and thankfully, very rare. Atleast 30 seconds prior the the incident, he was probably having the time of his life.

Although the risks are greatly reduced with current technology, it is at times like this where we are painfully reminded that the risk is present, and the worst will happen periodically.

Quote from keiran :

Haven't heard of a karting death in the UK for a long time.

There was a 125 karter killed in Northern Ireland during the summer in Kirkistown.

Thats pretty sad... not nice to hear those sort of things.

with the faster carts why don't they have mini roll bars or something? Would probably look stupid like

Sad as it is, he's gone - and the second worse off in the whole deal is the guy who hit him, despite there probably being nothing he could of possibly done to avoid it (I'm sure he could of tried if there was)...

Quote from DejaVu :

with the faster carts why don't they have mini roll bars or something? Would probably look stupid like

would you fancy being straped into a kart heading upside down towards a tire wall or concrete wall at 100+MPH? Theres absolutly nothing to protect you when your in it.
I'd much prefere to be thrown out and take my chances.

He was unlucky in a way, he hit the barriers and got thrown free. Usually you wouldn't end up on the racing line at somewhere like Silverstone but I guess he did. RIP.

EDIT: Just looked at a Silverstone track map and Luffield hairpin has a big run off on either side so he must have hit the barriers very hard to be thrown back onto the track

Quote from DejaVu :

with the faster carts why don't they have mini roll bars or something? Would probably look stupid like

Would be even worse. Bare in mind snr karts weigh anything between 160kg and probably not too much more than 250kgs for superkarts (all be it I have no idea what sort of weight they are ).

Most people who are thrown free are fine, it's the ones who get trapped in the kart who usually come out with broken bones.

@Xaotik
Yea must be hard for the guy who hit him, all be it he probably had no where else to go.

I must say it always struck me as one of the more dangerous forms of racing. It's like the worst of bike-racing and single-seater racing combined, with none of the safest elements of either. One one hand there's nothing protecting you at proper race car speeds, and on the other you can't get off it easily if things go wrong.

I digress, of course they all know the risks far better than I do.

Always a shame when someone dies doing something they love, and as xaotik said, the person that hit him will live with that for the rest of his life, it doesn't matter whether he could have done anything about it or not.

i saw a vid on youtube of kart crashes, like a collection - some of them were pretty funny But the ones where the kart turns over and the people are still in them, that's gotta hurt the neck and spine looks painful

Havent heard of one, since Andrea Margutti

there was also a 250 superkart driver killed in irl this summer
RIP

Quote from 11SuLLy11 :

there was also a 250 superkart driver killed in irl this summer
RIP

are you on about the lad in Kirkistown? Was he not in a 125? and i said that above...

i thought it was 250s dunno you could be right his name was something jackson not sure

He was 43 and in a 250. (The one who died at Kirkistown)

yep thats the guy !

Sad to hear about this


Somehow this reminds me of an older thread: http://www.lfsforum.net/showthread.php?t=13106

yep r.i.p

Rip that dude , i always get sad when i hear of some drivers death

ye !

I would think if he died quickly then it would be ok... Dying for something that you love to do or for somethin you believe in is one of the most honorable ways to die...just my thoughts r.i.p. let him see the great race tracks in heaven...

Quote from Sidewayzmaster :

Dying for something that you love to do or for somethin you believe in is one of the most honorable ways to die...

:tombstone Sad, very sad

But as Sidewayzmaster said...better racetrack than some stupid cancer or something.
This things reminds me once again Beef...:weeping:

Terrible to hear.

Can someone post a picture of the style of kart he was driving please? are superkarts the ones where you lay on your back like olympic one man louge (sp?). if so, they look fun, but i´d be terrified to race them competitively. i´ll stick to regular karting

speedfreak227

Sad to hear he died

Here is a picture of a superkart if anyone was wondering
http://www.zipkart.com/superkart/large_superkart.jpg

Just to add from the SuperKart Assocciations site the specs of one are:
0-60mph 3.5 seconds
150+mph top speed
80+bhp
120kgs (that is light! but I'm guessing thats without driver)
5 seconds a lap quicker than a Ferrari 360 at most UK tracks