Streak

cool

Pierre Martins

Hi Jeff. Yes you are correct. Safety is always a concern, but I came from bike racing and you can crash your brains out on a bike too. I had a look at MSA's (Motorsport South Africa) injury list about a year ago and the overwhelming majority of injuries stemmed from bike racing, MotoX in particular. Serious injuries in 250 karts are actually quite rare, but there have been fatalities. A driver was killed at Kirkistown in Ireland two years ago when he went off the track and the kart flipped over. A similar thing happened in Oz not too long ago, driver was injured, but not too bad. The accident in the pic below happened right in front of me, driver walked away with a couple of bruises. (You can read about it here.)

There are pros and cons. When you spin in a 250 kart you come to a sudden stop because you carry so little mass. That usually keeps you away from the armco's and tyre walls, whereas in a car you seem to slide until you hit something. 250 karts are unbelievably strong too, I've had a couple of mishaps that I've walked away from no problem. A couple of months ago one of the top superkarters in SA, Fabio Tafani, smacked a tyre wall at +/- 200kmh at Zwartkops raceway due to brake failure. The kart was a write-off, but he was unhurt and back in the seat racing, two weeks later.

But, and this is a big BUT, the real danger in a 250 kart is when you become airborne at high speed. The thing becomes a kite, like any car with a flat under-tray would, and if you land upside down without rollover protection you're probably gonna pay a heavy price. There is no way to argue against that.

Cheers,
Pierre.

ritzblitz

Awesome write up. More pics / videos of both cars!!

Jeff Lamb

No kidding!! I guess I didn't realize you had also raced motorcycles. I have tremendous respect for all the bike racers out there who can drift their bikes and "back" them into corners. Plus, your experience with racing cars, karts and bikes certainly makes you a well rounded racer.

Now THAT is amazing. That certainly consumed one of Fabio's "9 lives". I wonder how many of his other "9 lives" have been used up in other incidents!!

Jeff

Pierre Martins

Here's a little report I just uploaded about a fun race I did in the white RSR in December.

http://motoring-projects.blogspot.co...r%20retro%2009

Cheers,
Pierre.