Kyle Douglas believes he was placed on Earth for one factor and solely factor solely – to drive quick automobiles.
Key factors:
- Gold Coast man Shane Savage died when his automobile rolled at a Powercruise occasion in Queensland earlier this month
- It’s the second fatality at a Brisbane raceway this 12 months, after drag racer Sam Fenech died in January
- Advocates say the game is protected 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 novice cruising automobile occasion that enables anybody to push their automobile’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, offered their automobile passes security checks.
“I might name it practically an dependancy,” Mr Douglas stated.
“There’s nothing else I’ve completed in life that offers me that superior feeling of pleasure and adrenaline.
“You do not have to be on a giant race workforce with tens of millions of {dollars}’ value of automobiles, you’ll be able to exit and construct a automobile with your loved ones and present as much as the monitor.”
However the demise of 1 driver earlier this month close to Brisbane has raised questions on how protected novice automobile racing occasions are.
‘There’s all the time a threat’
Gold Coast man Shane Savage died on the Queensland Raceway when his automobile rolled in the course of 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 12 months, after skilled drag racer Sam Fenech died when he misplaced management of his automobile and collided with a digital camera 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 stated these incidents solid a shadow over the novice racing group.
“It is one thing you by no means need to see,” he stated.
“However on the finish of the day if you put your helmet on and go on the monitor, that is a threat that everybody takes.”
It is the primary deadly incident to occur in 20 years of powercruising in Australia, however in keeping with information from the Nationwide Coronial Info System, 551 folks 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 considerations.
Within the Northern Territory, an inquest into the demise of a spectator on the Finke Desert Race in 2021 heard peak physique Motorsports Australia did not do sufficient to maintain folks protected on the distant occasion.
Mr Douglas stated there was a strict security guidelines drivers needed to move earlier than stepping onto the monitor, however the sport all the time carried a threat.
“There’s not loads of alternative to get too loopy, as a result of when you do, you get pulled off the monitor,” he stated.
“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 automobile.”
Dealing with ‘unknowns’ on the street
Vice-president of the Ipswich West Moreton Auto Membership Kevin Parkes stated deadly incidents rocked the close-knit racing group.
“Motorsport is harmful, however we take each precaution doable to ensure it is a protected atmosphere,” he stated.
The automobile fanatic, who has been concerned in his membership for 23 years, stated the game attracts racers as younger as 14 and as outdated as 77.
“They arrive right here, deplete some power and get all of that out of their methods regularly, so they do not do foolish issues on their very own,” he stated.
Whereas the game carried threat, he stated common drivers took a threat each time they stepped onto the motorway.
Knowledge from the Queensland authorities confirmed 202 folks have died on state roads to this point in 2023.
“All the things on the street is unknown,” Mr Parkes stated.
“You do not know who’s driving anyplace … on a racetrack it is managed and supervised.
“The perfect factor to do [when there’s a crash] is to see whether or not or not there’s something you’ll be able to study from that individual incident.
“You, the driving force, are liable for how briskly you go.”
