Officials no-show stops 3rd round of karting championship

SINGAPORE — The third round of the 2014 Singapore Karting Championship was suspended this morning (July 5) after the clerk of the course (COC) and marshals failed to turn up for the race at the Kartright Speedway in Jurong.

Parents of participants for the cadet race for those aged 8 to 12 years old were angry, as they had invested time and money to prepare their charges for the competition.

The 11 youngsters were among 26 competitors who were to race in five categories including the cadet, junior, senior, masters and masters open series.

Singapore Motor Sports Association president Leslie Chang told TODAY a disciplinary committee will investigate the officials’ no-show and what action should be taken.

“Our priority today was safety, “ said Chang, who was elected SMSA president on June 20 after his predecessor Tan Teng Lip stepped down.

“We have other marshals on our roster, but before they can officiate in any event they must have a trial run to make sure they are able to coordinate with one another. Drivers’ safety will be compromised if this is not done.”

Tensions had been brewing since the last round on June 14, when parents of some of the competitors complained to SMSA about poor decisions made by the officials.

One of these involved a young competitor who was penalised for dangerous driving but it was not enforced on him.

The penalised driver went on to claim second place amid the protest of parents of the other competitors.

Chang said a meeting was held with the parents to look into their complaints.

He then made recommendations for driver briefings to be more extensive and that the lodging of protests had to be explained clearly to everyone.

Apparently the COC and marshals were unhappy their abilities were called into question and decided to boycott the race this morning.

Said Chang: “SMSA had been talking to the officials about their responsibilities and duties, and we were talking to them until as late as yesterday. I had held out hope they would turn up this morning, but that did not happen.

“We will now let the SMSA disciplinary committee handle them. Our priority has always been safety for the drivers and we will plan for the resumption of the championship in due course.”