Kart racer killed in track crash

12 April 2012

A kart racing driver has died in a crash at the Silverstone track.

The driver, in his 50s, is thought to have been flung from his kart when it hit a crash barrier at the Northamptonshire circuit this afternoon.

He was thrown clear of the vehicle during the final round of the 2006 British Superkart Championships and was hit by a chasing kart at the entrance to the Luffield hairpin.

Ian Rushforth, the series co-ordinator of the British Superkarts Association, paid tribute to the experienced driver, who has not yet been named.

He said: "We have had a fatality, it was a racing incident where two guys came together and one hit the barrier. The driver races in our formula one class, the fastest.

"He has been racing a lot of years, he was a very experienced driver. He was a very well known guy. He was quite a character in his own right."

The two metre-long 250cc karts are capable of speeds up to 150mph and average 100mph around the entire circuit. The drivers sit low down in the cramped compartments but are not strapped in with seatbelts.

Mr Rushforth said other drivers had been left shocked by the accident and said the sport itself had an excellent safety record.

He added: "Within the Superkart fraternity there are about 150 of us and we see the guys week in and week out. It is almost family. Because we are a very tight-knit family we always feel it. As with everything in motorsport and high speeds it is dangerous but thankfully we haven't seen too much. I have been in the game for 40 years and I have only seen five or six fatalities in that time. It is nothing like motorcycles, it is by and large a safe sport."

Northamptonshire Police traffic officers are investigating the crash on behalf of the county coroner, a spokesman said.

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