8yr old drag racer dies at Perth Motorplex

[solarite_guy]

Actually, it is discussions like these that contribute to transparency and dissemination of understanding. Also, helps the sanctioning bodies realize there is a great deal of interest in resolution.

In the beginning, it is true that speculation from all corners can lead to misinformation.

As investigations continue, the focus narrows.

True, objective investigation can lead to a lot of technical analysis which can sort through all the possibilities and help determine if remediation is called for.

Another tragic death comes to mind. That of Dale Earnhardt Sr. someone, I thought I despised. I saw his accident as it unfolded. Really, it didn't "look" bad at all. Then his car rolled into the infield. No motion from the driver. The emergency crews approached. There was an instant realization that something was very wrong.

In the aftermath a lot of questions were asked. Engineering firms were contracted to study the evidence and reconstruct what happened. Various online group discussions contributed to the sense of importance to understand what happened inside the #3 and what if anything could address such circumstances.

Something that surfaced was the injury. His head was whipped forward like how an atlatl accelerates a spear. This resulted in the basil skull fracture and death. How to address this?

The first step was a review of how teams installed seats and restraints. The #3 had several flaws. Getting into the details is another story. Next was chassis construction and maintenance.

During the implementation of these short safety improvements, long term work resulted in the head and neck restraints and the Safer Barriers. Development and implementation of both were and are continuous works in progress. Engineering and development of these devices weren't a matter of someone sticking their finger in the air to determine which direction the air was blowing. The up front analysis, which went for a good period of time had resulted in computerized mathematical models which allowed the ability to quantify the g-forces that resulted in Sr's demise.

Then there is the ugly Car of Tomorrow (COT). It too incorporated features designed to address the transfer of g-forces to the drivers. In fact with accelerators on allowed board during testing ongoing learning can happen during the event of collisions.

Discussions like this helped drive those efforts and helped spread the understanding as the technicalities became more clear.

[lance]

Originally Posted by bungarra

Condolences to the family on the loss of Anita.

The cars speed are limited based on age. The one driven by Anita is powered by a lawn mower engine and less powerful and heavier than most go karts used at the same age. She would not of been doing 115Km/h at any point.

There is actually more to qualifying in junior dragster than in go karts for the same age, more in depth pre race inspections, medicals etc.

The sport has been going for over 20 years without any deaths or major injuries until now.

Junior dragsters have been racing in Nz for 30 years with no major accidents that I'm aware of. My brother had the first junior dragster in the world, around 1987/88. I think he was five years old at the time.

[aussiblue]

More details released https://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/mo...-ng-b88664185z