In June 2016, the Department of Sport and
Recreation commissioned the Wanneroo Safety Enhancement Options
Identification and Assessment of Barbagallo Raceway by Hall Technical
because of concerns conveyed by stakeholders about the safety of the
track.
The scope of works included:
- Identify the current safety measures associated with the existing track.
- Identify where the safety requirements set down by the relevant national sanctioning organisations are not met.
- Benchmark the current configuration against the FIM Standards for Road Racing Circuits (SRRC).
- Provide a range of options that may enhance the existing safety measures.
- Identify site constraints impinging upon safety improvements.
- Indicate the comparative costs associated with the suggested safety enhancements.
- Identify any conflicts between the safety measures required for the different motor-racing disciplines (cars v motorcycles).
- Provide a conceptual costing for future extension of the circuit
and construction of an additional circuit to the north of existing
facility.
The findings of the report are intended to assist those
organisations with responsibility for track licencing, regulation and
operations to determine if they need to take any action regarding the
safety of the track.
The report has been presented to the motor sport bodies responsible
for licencing of the Barbagallo Raceway track and its operations, namely
the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS), Motor Cycling
Australia (MCA) and the WA Sports Car Club (WASCC).
The three sports bodies are now working in conjunction with
Motorcycling Western Australia (MWA) to respond to the report and
address any issues raised in the report.
The Department of Sport and Recreation hosted a meeting on 23
November 2016 to allow representatives of the relevant motor sports
bodies to meet with and provide direct feedback to the report’s author,
Mr. Chris Hall. Mr. Hall has now considered each of the group’s feedback
and he has finalised his report.
The Department of Sport and Recreation is not the owner of the track
or a regulator of racing activities at the Barbagallo Raceway. It has no
role in licensing the undertaking of activities at the track and has no
factual or legal control over the operations which WA Sporting Car Club
(WASCC) or Motorcycling Australia (MCA) choose to conduct or permit at
the Barbagallo Raceway.
The Department of Sport and Recreation’s role is to support, where
appropriate, the development of motor sports in Western Australia with
the benefit and safety of the community in mind.
If requested, the Department of Sport and Recreation will continue to
work with the motor sports organisations to assist them to deliver
solutions they wish to implement as a result of their own investigations
and only after receiving independent legal and professional advice.
This statement should not be taken as a commitment by the Department of
Sport and Recreation to fund any improvements that are undertaken to
improve track safety at Barbagallo Raceway.
The author of the safety report, Mr Chris Hall, and Motorcycling WA
have both stated the tragic race incident on the 5th November was not in
any way related to any of the safety issues contained in Mr Hall’s
report to DSR, dated 4th November.
Disclaimer
The Wanneroo Safety Enhancement Options Identification and Assessment
of Barbagallo Raceway report was obtained by the Department of Sport
and Recreation to facilitate consultation between the responsible
stakeholders in relation to safety improvements at the track as a result
of prior safety incidents.
The report is not the work of the Department of Sport and Recreation
and the Department of Sport and Recreation takes no responsibility for
its contents.
In particular, the Department of Sport and Recreation expresses no
view in relation to the methodology or conclusions contained in the
report.
Recipients should act upon the report as they think appropriate after
taking independent legal and professional advice as to the process of
and reasoning in the report, and the conclusions reached in it.