Track Tac

Safety - Dirt vs. Asphalt

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Veiled84

New member
Last weekend, we lost an oval asphalt kart racer in Jasper, AL. (prayers to his family). I'm new to karting and it just got me wondering - Is karting generally safer on dirt than asphalt? I've seen so many videos on Youtube where guys on asphalt go for a typical spin and suddenly just flip over. It makes sense... the racing surface is asphalt, the karts are light and they are slower than most race cars, so the asphalt dead-stopping the tires during a skid and sending the kart tumbling seems like a usual occurrence. On dirt, though, it seems most kart spins just go for a long slide and don't usually flip over unless they hit a berm, a piece of track comes up, or there's hard contact from another kart. So, is dirt karting generally safer than asphalt? Or is my perception simply flawed? Sorry for the noob question but I appreciate you all humoring it.
 
Veiled84 said:
Last weekend, we lost an oval asphalt kart racer in Jasper, AL. (prayers to his family). I'm new to karting and it just got me wondering - Is karting generally safer on dirt than asphalt? I've seen so many videos on Youtube where guys on asphalt go for a typical spin and suddenly just flip over. It makes sense... the racing surface is asphalt, the karts are light and they are slower than most race cars, so the asphalt dead-stopping the tires during a skid and sending the kart tumbling seems like a usual occurrence. On dirt, though, it seems most kart spins just go for a long slide and don't usually flip over unless they hit a berm, a piece of track comes up, or there's hard contact from another kart. So, is dirt karting generally safer than asphalt? Or is my perception simply flawed? Sorry for the noob question but I appreciate you all humoring it.
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Your perception is flawed.

You can get hurt badly on any surface, roll cage or no roll cage
 
Veiled84 said:
Last weekend, we lost an oval asphalt kart racer in Jasper, AL. (prayers to his family). I'm new to karting and it just got me wondering - Is karting generally safer on dirt than asphalt? I've seen so many videos on Youtube where guys on asphalt go for a typical spin and suddenly just flip over. It makes sense... the racing surface is asphalt, the karts are light and they are slower than most race cars, so the asphalt dead-stopping the tires during a skid and sending the kart tumbling seems like a usual occurrence. On dirt, though, it seems most kart spins just go for a long slide and don't usually flip over unless they hit a berm, a piece of track comes up, or there's hard contact from another kart. So, is dirt karting generally safer than asphalt? Or is my perception simply flawed? Sorry for the noob question but I appreciate you all humoring it.
Click to expand...
I too am new to the karting realm, but not racing, and based on talking with some veterans of the sport it seems that in oval karting, if you are spinning to the inside of the track, meaning the right side tires are leading the slide, you have a low chance of flipping. However, if you are sliding towards the outside of the track, where the left side tires are leading the slide, you can go over really easily because of where the weight is in relation to the digging tires.

Simply put, racing is dangerous. You don't put on a helmet for something that isn't. We do everything possible to make it safer, but you cant make it safe. Asphalt in my mind probably carries more speed, and can lead to more spectacular wrecks. But even on dirt I have seen guys flip 3 or 4 times after contact.
 
Was there a safety device that he was not wearing when this happened? I cant find the details on it.
 
We all take risks getting in the driver seat no matter what. Its truely tragic. Unfortunately roll overs happen. I hit a buddy that spun in the middle of one and two. Thought i cleared him but didnt. Clipped the LR and over he went. I ran over 100ft after spinning and got to him the same time the corner guy did. Luckily he didnt break anything and came back and won the feature. Albeit he was in a lot of pain for a few days. All safety gear was worn too.
 
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