2018 Trackday Safety Requirements (includes rollover bar content)

[Shortshift]

During the last year, the Management Team has carried out a comprehensive review of the Club’s legacy rules relating to safety on our trackdays.  With the review now completed, we are today releasing a revised set of safety regulations that will apply from the start of the 2018 trackday season.

A new ‘Trackday Safety Requirements and Recommendations’ (TSRR) document has been developed that consolidates the Club’s previous rules about self-assurance and self-scrutineering, pre-event checklists and mandatory safety equipment into a single form.  We believe that the new document clarifies and simplifies the Club’s trackday requirements; it identifies mandatory minimum standards as well as other measures that are strongly recommended.  A copy of the TSRR is available TSRR - Trackday Safety Requirements and Recommendations..pdf.

A key part of this comprehensive review has been an assessment of the Club’s long-standing requirement for fitment of ‘trackday’ or ‘FIA’ types of rollover bar as a condition of trackday participation.   The Management Team commissioned a programme of objective investigation and test at HORIBA-MIRA, a recognised authority in rollover protection systems, and subsequently formed a Working Group to assess the results and to make recommendations about the Club’s rollover bar policy.

Based upon the test results provided, the Working Group concluded that trackday or FIA types of rollover bar offer substantially better performance that standard bars.  Importantly, neither of the standard rollover bars tested (including the latest version introduced around 2001) matched the level of performance provided by either the single-braced trackday bar, as originally mandated by the Club back in 1996, or of the current double-braced version.

As a consequence, the Management Team has confirmed that trackday or FIA types of rollover bar will continue to be the minimum standard required for Club trackdays.  This outcome is reflected in the new TSRR.  An article providing more detail about the work carried out in the rollover bar review is published in January’s edition of Lowflying, and is also linked on this page here.

Whilst we believe that the Lowflying article and the new TSRR document are self-explanatory, we will endeavour to respond on this thread to any major questions or open issues arising.

James

 

 

[CycleSi]

 

Seeing as many people are still confused by all of this, could somebody post up clear photos of exactly what is and what isn't acceptable for 2018 L7C track days as some descriptions/names of roll bars seem to vary whereas actual pictures should make it 100% clear.

Maybe post up ALL of the various roll bars with a big tick or cross next to each one.

[Shortshift]

Si - it's really quite straightforward, as explained in the Lowflying article and specified in the new TSRR. 

If your rollover bar has either one or two diagonal braces across the main hoop then it is almost certainly a trackday (or FIA) type of bar.

James

[SLR No.77]

Thank you to James and the team / working group for the update on this, there's obviously a lot of work gone into the resulting documents and decisions. Hopefully this can be put to bed now.

Stu.

[Wrightpayne]

James,

thanks for all the hard work, which has undoubtedly put some theory around the gut feel decision made in the 90's, proving it was the right thing to do.

I just have a couple of feedback points:-

1) The revised track day rules/guidelines don't mention filming equipment. In the extremes of trackday driving this can quickly come detached and a hazard for driver & other participants. Did you assume this would be covered by vehicle safety points?

2) The LF article didnt seem to cover the actual tests on the bars in any great detail. We're generally all very interested in the technical minutia! Were they computer simulations or were any roll bars harmed in production of the report?

I must add it was late when I read the two articles so could have missed the above mentioned points!!

Regards

Ian

[Shortshift]

Ah - valid points, Ian.

Yes, we do insist on having cameras (and similar) securely mounted to the vehicle although certain circuits (Silverstone, for example) have even tighter requirements.  Not sure how that one slipped the net.  I'll see if there are any other items that other people pick-up on and update the document in, say, a week's time.  Hopefully there won't be too many gaps like that...

In relation to the testing, I hope that a second read through the Lf article will reveal the piece where I wrote about  "performance... was determined using the newly created engineering models, simulating deformation and structural integrity..."   So yes, the testing took the form of engineering modeling and simulation.  (Strange that none of the volunteers who supported us at HORIBA-MIRA seemed keen to let us carry out a physical test on their cars...)

James
 

[ECR]

Congratulations and thanks to you James and all the other members of the working group. A very useful piece of work.

[JNC]

Not the result I was hoping for but not unexpected  !!  James you state you will not be releasing the test results on BC  ! Will they be made available to look at please if only to satisfy me that my car is safe for road use .  And as the club has paid for the testing to be done don't the results belong to the members ? It is good to draw a line under the Rollbar issue as far as the club stands but in not publishing the results I don't think does the club any favours  more grey areas !. 

[Terence]

If the full report is to be published to members then It should be restricted to Club members only, and should be be clearly copyrighted to the Club.

If there is a particular issue that a member has has in the absence of such publication I am sure that James will give a full and comprehensive answer. The Club has paid for this research in more ways than one, and I do not consider it should be freely given away.

[Ian B]

James, the article states:

"This enthusiasm though was brought into check by advice provided to the Management Team about the importance of the precedence created by the 1996 rule."

Can you advise what form that advice took, and what was the source please?

[Shortshift]

Back in and responding to some of the recent posts from this afternoon:

John (JNC):  I have no idea why you might think your car may be unsafe to use; there is no inference to that effect either in the Lowflying article or in the words I have written here to introduce the topic.

John (JNC) and Saki:  As covered in the Lowflying article, the detailed test results will not be made available for general review.  The Management Team concluded that the HORIBA-MIRA results would be best reviewed by a Working Group formed of members with relevant expertise and experience.  I would simply ask you to follow the Management Team's lead in trusting the judgements and recommendations formed by that Group.

Ian B:  As you would expect the Management Team obtained relevant and appropriate legal advice, including on Health and Safety (H&S) aspects.

James

[JNC]

What is it with this club do all you MT look down on us peasants from your Ivory tower !! You can't see the letter from CC because you won't understand and Now we can't make up our own minds from the results from MIRA  why is that  ? 

 

[Stewart Collier]

I take exception to someone calling me a peasant. Why can't the decision be accepted without a spurious argument about their road car being safe?

[Gnockoff]

The question of whether your road car is safe should be addressed to Caterham Cars. The issue here is whether a decision taken some years ago Re rollbars and track days is still valid. It would appear to be so. End of. 

[DJ.]

Not at all surprised, I'll carry on paying other clubs/companies for my trackday fun.

Duncan

[Tazio]

Give it up JNC, you really are pushing it...move on, accept the decision and act accordingly, the constant sniping has simply become so tiresome and petulant.

[SLR No.77]

Well said Tazio,

Stu.

[JNC]

Tazio Thanks for your reply ! . I have accepted the club decision and won't be challenging the reason any more . My question to James is how safe is the standard Rollbar for my own ref from the testing.

[Roadsport06]

12

[Ian B]

Ian B:  As you would expect the Management Team obtained relevant and appropriate legal advice, including on Health and Safety (H&S) aspects.

Thanks James, but that doesn't answer my question.

You've confirmed in the article that the Club commissioned HORIBA-MIRA to do the tests, I'm simply asking for clarification on from whom and in what form was the "legal advice" taken, as that is clearly an important aspect?

[Shortshift]

Ian - thanks. 

As the focus here is the technical study and the objective data that it produced, it's appropriate from a number of angles to confirm HORIBA-MIRA as the agency that carried out the work for the Club. 

I am happy to answer questions here (to the best of my ability) that help provide general understanding of the work undertaken but in the same way that we're not publishing full test results, we won't be delving into the absolute detail of every step along the way. 

That said, I can confirm that the Management Team's legal advice came from a number of sources including a senior legal practitioner who frequently represents the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in corporate accident cases, including those where manslaughter charges are being brought.

James

[TomB]

Well done everyone, good to see some robust analysis to support the gut feel.  For me, it seems an absolute no brainer now to change to an FIA/track day bar if you have a standard bar, as they have been demonstrated through analysis that they are stronger.  Roll over accidents can happen on the road, and I want as much protection when ever Im out in the car, not just on my occasional foray onto a track. 

Could we persuade Caterham to over a roll bar scrappage scheme....?  

  

[Wrightpayne]

Or a few owners donate their non trackday/ non FIA bars to the club when they upgrade, for use by new owners to get them through the IVA. Lets face it they are pretty much worth scrap value now! 

Ian

[The_ASH]

I don’t think the standard bar has become completely useless or unfit for purpose over night.

I’m sure Caterham would say that it provides considerably more protection than no bar at all, if you feel you need more protection (or a trackday organiser requires it) then fit the trackday bar, if you feel you need protection beyond that then fit an Academy cage.

[mark_w]

Thinking the only plus point for the standard bar now is rearward vision. and with an S3 FIA bar costing £321 to me that looks really good value for someone thinking of doing one of the club trackdays

 hats off to James and all involved in getting this through to a conclusion

Mark