Race track puts safety first

A call was recently put out to motorsport enthusiasts to come up with practical suggestions to upgrade safety measures at Tony Rust Race Track.

Windhoek Motor Club chairperson Richard Slamet says this comes after a near-fatal incident on the tracks recently forced management to go back to the drawing board.

“The safety aspect around the track when it comes to the main circuit racing, particularly when it comes to that corner, was not completely up to standard.

“We are now trying to make it as safe as possible. Unfortunately, there was a bad accident in which a car was lost, but the driver fortunately survived the incident,” he says.

This part of the race track could be dangerous if drivers do not pay attention.

Drivers usually come down on the main strait towards the corner at very high speed, Slamet says.

Several drivers in the past had narrow escapes at the involved corner on the track, yet walked away with only scratches and bruises.

These drivers include Slamet himself eight years ago, Alan Martin about two years ago, and Michael Strydom recently.

“We, as a committee, got together with the Namibia Motorsport Federation and had to make the tough decision: Either we upgrade safety when it comes to the end of the main strait, or discontinue all races until upgrades are done,” Slamet says.

He expresses his gratitude to club members who have stepped up to ensure safety is upgraded.

As cars become more advanced and faster, upgrades are a continued necessity.

This, however, costs money and funds are mostly raised among the racing fraternity, as well as through entry fees and limited sponsorships.

One option has been to build speed breakers, which would be a costly exercise for the already financially burdened club and code.

Erecting tyre barriers are on par with international standards and approved by the international motor sport federation, while they are also acceptable at Formula 1 races. Around 600 tyres have been used to strengthen the race track’s barriers.

Zirkas Panelbeaters have bolted some of the tyres together to ensure an improved structure.

M+Z Motors, Cema Racing, Zirkas Panelbeaters and JP Hydraulics from Walvis Bay have contributed in cash and in kind, while many volunteers have offered their weekends to assist in strengthening safety.

Other contributors are Savanna Car Hire, Mark Sternagel, Hein Bischoff and Michel van Zyl from Mad Tuning, while Super Quick Tyres donated used tyres.

Other businesses made their trucks and earth-moving machinery available to upgrade track safety.