Oh...... That's NOTHING....
On an extremely rare occasion, I was leading a heat (I told you it was rare!) in the 1970s and I was on my last lap. A driver had re-started and promptly decided to cross the track.... without looking.
I was full-chat down hill.
The image that's burned into my mind is of a left front wheel and green 'leather' (plastic.... the suits we used to wear) covered leg just as I struck his kart that was 90 degrees across the track. I flew through the air for at LEAST 30ft, landed in the side of the kart which proptly fell over, trapping me underneath as I slid down the track. My foot had fallen off the brake pedal but the other was jammed on full throttle. The engine pinned my helmet to the track and the combined noise of the side of the helmnet being 'erased' by the track and the engine at damned nigh 20,000 rpm stopped me worrying about dying as I was convinced I was going to go deaf!!!
When I stopped and released the throttle, the marshal came over and shouted that he wasn't going to let me out from UNDER the kart until I confirmed that I K*N*E*W it wasn't HIS fault as he'd heard me swearing and threatening the entire world as I flew through the air......
My chassis, three wheels, leather suit, helmet boots gloves AND ENGINE were all 'write-offs'....
After a visit to the ambulance, I returned to the pits looking for the other driver.... Wisely, he'd packed up and gone home (it was only heat 2!) .... None of us ever saw him at Kimbolton again! ...... a wise decision!
If he's reading this..... you KNOW who you are.... as do I....!
As you see, such accidents are NOT new.....
I still have the Simpson helmet and it's one of the reasons I have used them for the rest of my karting 'career'. It has deep gouges on both sides of the helmet delivered by the engine AND the track. It did it's job EXACTLY when I needed it!
That's the incident that many long term ex-Kimbolton drivers will quote you about me be being upside down FAR too often...... Sadly, they are RIGHT!
Ian
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Is this common place now? by 'TheBougyMan' (14 Mar 2012 @ 12:48)
