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)

Chamari Athapaththu, who scored an unbeaten 195 in just 139 balls to take Sri Lanka to a remarkable win over South Africa in their final ODI in Potchefstroom last week, has risen to the No. 1 spot in the ICC’s batting rankings for women’s ODIs.
Athapaththu’s knock broke a number of records in women’s cricket, including the highest individual score in a successful ODI chase. It was also the second-highest individual score in a successful ODI chase across women’s and men’s cricket, behind Glenn Maxwell’s 201 not out against Afghanistan at the 2023 World Cup.

Chasing South Africa’s 301 for 5, itself the result of Laura Wolvaardt’s outstanding 147-ball 184 not out – which took her series tally to 335 runs – Sri Lanka got home in just 44.3 overs to square the series. The second-best individual score for Sri Lanka in the chase was Nilakshika Silva’s 50 not out in 71 balls.

Following that effort, Athapaththu achieved her highest-ever rating of 773 on the ICC table, and moved past Nat Sciver-Brunt, who has 764 points. Wolvaardt, who had entered the top five in the last update of the rankings, moved up two more spots, past Beth Mooney and Smriti Mandhana, to third place.

Hayley Matthews, meanwhile, jumped seven spots to reach No. 11 on the same table after scoring 140 not out and 44 in West Indies’ wins over Pakistan in the first two ODIs of their three-match series.

Among bowlers, Sadia Iqbal, the Pakistan left-arm spinner, moved up six places to enter the top 20 after returns of 2 for 38 and 1 for 36 in the two games against West Indies.

(espncricinfo.com)

(Except for the headline, this story, originally published by espncricinfo.com has not been edited by SLM staff)

Tragedy struck at the “Fox Hill Super Cross 2024” racing event in Diyatalawa, resulting in the death of five individuals and leaving 21 others injured, according to Police Media Spokesperson DIG Nihal Thalduwa.

The incident occurred when a race car veered off the track and collided with a group of spectators, DIG Thalduwa explained.

The 28th edition of the ‘Fox Hill SuperCross,’ organized by the Sri Lanka Military Academy Diyatalawa with the support of Sri Lanka Automobile Sports (SLAS), commenced in Diyatalawa on Sunday (21).