FIA Karting put out a statement overnight announcing its new rear wheel safety device to reduce the likelihood of karts becoming airborne after contact.
The new fairing (the red bit in the image below) is in use this weekend, the entire field of Junior Academy Trophy karts testing the device in race conditions.
The concept of further covering the wheels has prompted lots of backlash online, people concerned the sport is now far removed from its simple, small open-wheel past.
Punters are saying if safety is truly the goal, why not just go full rental-kart spec with a wraparound bumper? (Which inevitably leads to the seat belts and rollover bars argument… )
Even our own karting icon David Sera posted, “We’ll have roofs over our heads soon enough”.
“I’m all for trying to improve safety” he continued, “but how about guiding drivers how to drive. Not go for stupid moves, punt the kart in front etc”
advertisement
An unpopular alternative to improve general safety across the board would be to use less grippy tyres. It seems the sport can’t help itself by introducing progressively faster, aggressive tyres.
Earlier this month, Tkart published exclusive pictures of the wheel protector – read the Tkart article HERE.
The FIA Karting statement is below.
The FIA Karting statement
FIA Strengthens Karting Safety with Innovative ‘Anti-Launch’ Device
The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the global governing body for motor sport and the federation for mobility organisations worldwide, has announced a new safety device has been developed by the FIA Safety Department to reduce the likelihood of karts becoming airborne following collisions.
At the request of the FIA President, CIK Commission and World Motor Sport Council, the FIA Safety Department developed the rear-wheel protection system that functions by preventing direct wheel-to-wheel contact between karts which can result in a kart becoming airborne or rollover. By placing protection over the rear wheel to prevent this form of contact, initial testing in both laboratory and track conditions has produced promising results.
The device will undergo further testing this weekend during its first deployment in race conditions in the Academy Trophy – Junior category at the FIA Karting World Cup in Cremona, Italy. Pending the full results and evaluation of this weekend’s testing, the FIA intends to roll out the rear-wheel protection device to additional karting categories from next season.
Throughout the testing and implementation phases, the FIA will maintain close collaboration and communication with drivers, teams and manufacturers to ensure the system meets the highest standards of both safety and performance.
Supported by the FIA Foundation, the anti-launch device is the latest in several safety developments the FIA has recently developed for karting. Karting body protection, light panels and helmet standards have been introduced in recent years and earlier this year Impact Data Recorders were rolled out to provide invaluable data that will inform future safety standards. The FIA Safety Department continues to research, develop and test world-leading safety devices and guidelines to raise safety standards across all motor sport categories.
Akbar Ebrahim, FIA Karting Commission President, said:
“Safety is of paramount importance in karting and this innovative device to raise safety standards and reduce the likelihood of karts becoming airborne has shown encouraging results in early testing. This system could represent a significant step forward in our ongoing efforts to enhance safety across all levels of karting and I would like to thank the manufacturers, drivers and engineers for their support during the development and testing of this new equipment.”
Nuno Costa, FIA Safety Director, said:
“We’re constantly researching safety innovations across motor sport categories at the FIA, from grassroots to Formula 1, and wheel protection is a promising area of development within karting to reduce the likelihood of karts lifting off. Initial testing has shown that this device is very effective and we will closely study the results from the further testing in Cremona this week before seeking final regulatory and governance approval.”
advertisement