Sri Lanka Association of Racing Drivers and Riders (SLARDAR) has condemned the arrests of the car drivers over the recent Fox Hill motorsport racing event accident, in which seven people were killed.
Seven individuals were killed and 23 others were injured after a car hurtled into spectators at the ‘Fox Hill Super Cross 2024’ event held in Diyathalawa on Sunday.
The drivers of two cars involved in accidents at the race were arrested and remanded over the incident.
Speaking to reporters, Sajaad Zuhair of SLARDAR said it has become an issue as the Police have deemed it a problem of the car drivers.
However, the preparations of the racetrack and crowd control are the responsibilities of the organizers, and as competitors, the racers cannot do anything about it, he explained.
Commenting on the incident, Zuhair said the drivers have been blamed for not slowing down upon seeing the yellow flag, adding “ Racers cannot immediately slow down once they see the flag. They can only slow down a few distances after seeing the flag”.
“Once a car had toppled the organizers should have resorted to showing the red flag if they were unable to immediately remove the vehicle off the track. The car toppled inside the track and not outside. The accident is a result of the public moving onto the tracks and not because of a car going off track,” he added.
Stating that it was unfair for the racers to be arrested over the incident, Sajaad Zuhair further said that the organizers must take responsibility for the accident and not pass the blame onto other persons.
(newswire.lk)
(Except for the headline, this story, originally published by newswire.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)
