Novice racing advocates insist powercruising is secure after dying of man throughout Queensland race

Kyle Douglas believes he was placed on Earth for one factor and solely factor solely – to drive quick vehicles.

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 forged a spell over him – Powercruise.

Powercruise is an novice 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, offered their automotive passes security checks.

“I would name it practically an habit,” Mr Douglas stated.

“You do not have to be on a giant race crew with hundreds of thousands of {dollars}’ price of vehicles, you may exit and construct a automotive with your loved ones and present as much as the monitor.”

However the dying of 1 driver earlier this month close to Brisbane has raised questions on how secure novice 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 through 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 digital camera tower on the Willowbank Raceway in January.

A evaluation into the Willowbank incident by Office Well being and Security discovered security measures didn’t contribute to the accident.

Mr Douglas stated these incidents forged a shadow over the novice racing group.

“It is one thing you by no means wish 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 line with knowledge 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 rivals between 2021 and 2022 discovered security, course design and eligibility of autos 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 didn’t do sufficient to maintain individuals secure on the distant occasion.

Mr Douglas stated there was a strict security guidelines drivers needed to cross earlier than stepping onto the monitor, however the sport at all times carried a threat.

“There’s not a number of alternative to get too loopy, as a result of if you happen to do, you get pulled off the monitor,” he stated.

“However 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 stated deadly incidents rocked the close-knit racing group.

The automotive fanatic, who has been concerned in his membership for 23 years, stated the game attracts racers as younger as 14 and as previous as 77.

“They arrive right here, deplete some vitality 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.

Information from the Queensland authorities confirmed 202 individuals have died on state roads up to now in 2023.

“All the pieces on the street is unknown,” Mr Parkes stated.

“You do not know who’s driving wherever … on a racetrack it is managed and supervised.

“The most effective factor to do [when there’s a crash] is to see whether or not or not there’s something you may be taught from that individual incident.

“You, the driving force, are accountable for how briskly you go.”