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Kyle Douglas believes he was placed on Earth for one factor and solely factor solely – to drive quick vehicles.
Key factors:
- Gold Coast man Shane Savage died when his automotive rolled at a Powercruise occasion in Queensland earlier this month
- It’s the second fatality at a Brisbane raceway this yr, after drag racer Sam Fenech died in January
- Advocates say the game is secure however carries a threat
The self-described revhead travels throughout the nation collaborating in high-octane drag racing and burnout competitions in his modified ute.
However there’s one occasion that is solid a spell over him – Powercruise.
Powercruise is an beginner cruising automotive occasion that enables anybody to push their automotive’s “efficiency ranges to the restrict” by driving as much as 130 kilometres per hour on a racetrack.
It is authorized and open to anybody, supplied their automotive passes security checks.
“I might name it practically an dependancy,” Mr Douglas mentioned.
“There’s nothing else I’ve completed in life that provides me that superior feeling of pleasure and adrenaline.
“You do not have to be on a giant race workforce with thousands and thousands of {dollars}’ value of vehicles, you may exit and construct a automotive with your loved ones and present as much as the observe.”
However the dying of 1 driver earlier this month close to Brisbane has raised questions on how secure beginner automotive racing occasions are.
‘There’s at all times a threat’
Gold Coast man Shane Savage died on the Queensland Raceway when his automotive rolled throughout the 93rd instalment of Powercruise Promotions close to Brisbane.
Queensland police and Office Well being and Security are investigating the incident.
It is the second fatality at a Brisbane raceway this yr, after skilled drag racer Sam Fenech died when he misplaced management of his automotive and collided with a digicam tower on the Willowbank Raceway in January.
A overview into the Willowbank incident by Office Well being and Security discovered security measures didn’t contribute to the accident.
Mr Douglas mentioned these incidents solid a shadow over the beginner racing neighborhood.
“It is one thing you by no means wish to see,” he mentioned.
“However on the finish of the day once you put your helmet on and go on the observe, that is a threat that everybody takes.”
It is the primary deadly incident to occur in 20 years of powercruising in Australia, however based on information from the Nationwide Coronial Info System, 551 individuals died in wheeled motorsports actions between 2001 and 2017.
Over 33 per cent of these deaths occurred at a racetrack.
In February, an investigation into the deaths of 4 Targa Tasmania opponents between 2021 and 2022 discovered security, course design and eligibility of automobiles and drivers had been key issues.
Within the Northern Territory, an inquest into the dying of a spectator on the Finke Desert Race in 2021 heard peak physique Motorsports Australia did not do sufficient to maintain individuals secure on the distant occasion.
Mr Douglas mentioned there was a strict security guidelines drivers needed to cross earlier than stepping onto the observe, however the sport at all times carried a threat.
“There’s not plenty of alternative to get too loopy, as a result of should you do, you get pulled off the observe,” he mentioned.
“Nevertheless it’s a harmful operation, I am not strolling the canine within the park, I am driving a 1,000 plus horsepower burn out automotive.”
Going through ‘unknowns’ on the street
Vice-president of the Ipswich West Moreton Auto Membership Kevin Parkes mentioned deadly incidents rocked the close-knit racing neighborhood.
“Motorsport is harmful, however we take each precaution attainable to verify it is a secure setting,” he mentioned.
The automotive fanatic, who has been concerned in his membership for 23 years, mentioned the game attracts racers as younger as 14 and as outdated as 77.
“They arrive right here, expend some vitality and get all of that out of their methods frequently, so they do not do foolish issues on their very own,” he mentioned.
Whereas the game carried threat, he mentioned common drivers took a threat each time they stepped onto the motorway.
Information from the Queensland authorities confirmed 202 individuals have died on state roads up to now in 2023.
“Every little thing on the street is unknown,” Mr Parkes mentioned.
“You do not know who’s driving anyplace … on a racetrack it is managed and supervised.
“One of the best factor to do [when there’s a crash] is to see whether or not or not there’s something you may study from that exact incident.
“You, the driving force, are accountable for how briskly you go.”
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