Speed could explain the very serious accident suffered by American driver Ayrton Climo at the Monaco karting Grand Prix in Trois-Rivières on August 1, 2014.
On the 5th day of the $26 million civil lawsuit brought by his family against the organization of the event, an experienced marshal testified that the driver was too fast entering turn five, where the accident happened.
Christian Parent was a direct witness to the accident, he who was stationed at turn number six.
«Le [pilote] 377 came too fast […]. At that point, I throw up my blue flag and start running to say “stop, stop”. I ran before impact. I knew it wouldn’t pass. He was too fast, ”testified Mr. Parent Monday at the Trois-Rivières courthouse.
Finally, the runner hit the central low wall at an angle of ten degrees.
He was ejected and thrown into the middle of the runway, where three pilots could not avoid him, hitting him in the head, ribs and lower legs.
Ayrton Climo has kept permanent brain damage.
Last week, Ayrton Climo’s father assured that in his eyes, the patching of turn number five had been poorly done.
He had also questioned the safety of the circuit, in particular by questioning the presence of bullets at times as an impact attenuator.
However, for Christian Parent, “there was no security issue in Trois-Rivières”. The circuit had the same configuration as in previous presentations. Only the turn five clearance had been widened. As for the condition of the paving in turn five, the flagman said he warned the organization that a repair was needed on Thursday July 31.
“The fixes were made for August 1,” he assured. So that was before the accident happened.
As for the presence of hay bales in the runway guard, Mr. Parent said that there was nothing abnormal about that. Other circuits have “always” used it, including that of Las Vegas, which he himself helped to design and on which he officiated.