T Bones

Anybody at the King’s Lynn meeting on Saturday 17^th April would have been aware of a very big T-bone which put Graham Garrod in hospital overnight. We are pleased to confirm that Graham is on the mend and has both internal and external bruising from which he will fully recover.

We will bring this incident up at the next ORCi in early May where it will be determined whether any changes to the racing rules are made to ensure that a similar incident in future does not result in more serious injury. At the moment T Bone against the fence are not allowed.

Trackstar wish to stress that the hit was completely legal as far as any rules in force on 17^th April are concerned and that the driver concerned, Tom Chilton, was not subject to any penalties on the night although Tom himself was very concerned by the crash and chose not to continue racing. There is no question in our mind that this was anything other than a Banger racing crash and that no malice was intended. However, we are very aware that this crash should be considered a lucky escape and that we should all learn something from it.

It has therefore been decided that excessive T-bones will be outlawed at King’s Lynn with immediate effect. We stress that this does not mean all T-bones are no longer allowed. We are just talking about hits towards the end of the straights carried out at high speed. Unfortunately, there is an unavoidable grey area here as to what is and isn’t excessive but we are certain that all drivers and officials who are regularly involved in this sport develop an instinctive sense for what is and isn’t over the top. Any questionable crashes will be judged against this measure.

Our next meeting at King’s Lynn for Bangers is the Figure of Eight meeting and we appreciate that the format of this event makes T-boning more likely than usual. From past experience, we know that drivers treat the figure of eight course with a great deal of respect and we do not anticipate that there will be any issues arising from this meeting. Our message to drivers is that you should race at this meeting in the way that you normally would and we will certainly not be seeking to penalise anybody for incidents at the crossover.

Looking ahead, it is not yet certain whether the penalty for excessive T-bones will be a load up or a ban. The Board of Control wish to wait and see what comes out of discussions at the next ORCi meeting. If a general rule comes into force as a result of this meeting, then Trackstar would follow the guidelines set out by the ORCi. Drivers racing in the 2 Litre Bangers on Saturday 15^th May will receive full information about the T-boning rule by way of the usual driver handouts when arriving in the pits and at a drivers briefing.