Two off-road vehicles jock for position during a race in this undated photo at Superstition. (IVP FILE) |
A week and a half shy of the first local off-road race of the season, some are worried that a lawsuit filed Wednesday could cause more problems for racing in the Imperial County desert.
The lawsuit, filed in San Diego federal court, seeks unspecified damages that could total millions of dollars from the driver involved in a multiple-fatal crash in the Mojave Desert, a race organizer and the federal government, reported the Associated Press. Eight people were killed and at least a dozen injured in August 2010 when a modified truck racing in the “California 200” slammed into spectators.
A lawyer for the wrongful death and personal injury suits said the race was carelessly planned with no concern for public safety. The Bureau of Land Management, which manages the public land the race was held on, as well as large areas in Imperial County, should not have granted the permits, the lawyer continued.
Changes sparked by the initial crash have already started to be implemented in local races, including the Rattlesnake Chase scheduled for Sept. 25, said Paul Kirby, RoadRunner Offroad Racing Club president. The off-road motorcycle club organizes races in Imperial County’s Plaster City and has had to deal with the new permitting process.
“It is a challenge,” he said. “It’s very structured. What used to be a very simple process, turning in an application three weeks ahead of time, now we have to turn in 180 days ahead of time.”
The extra time is not the only change, as race organizers are having to pay more to have BLM personnel on site, he said. A race last year cost about $1,500 in government fees, but that same one earlier this year jumped up to more than $8,500 for those same government fees. It’s all due to the bureau recovering more costs.
On a positive note, Roadrunner Racing has been working closely with the bureau, and the bureau has agreed not to charge any cost recovery fees for the race next week, Kirby said. That’s an encouraging sign.
“We’re just getting better,” he said. “Both sides are getting better at putting races on.”
With the lawsuit, there could be more challenges ahead, Kirby said.
The local bureau office has told him in the past that if there is litigation, races will be put on hold, he said. While the Sept. 25 Rattlesnake Chase has already been permitted, the future of other races is not clear.
“I worry every day that this is going to be our last race,” he said.
The local group is already ready to cancel one race in March 2012 because the government fees are going up, he said. The King National, a race held locally for competitors throughout the nation, will not be held in 2012.
Changes in the federal permitting process stemmed from an internal review by the Bureau of Land Management. That review concluded that the agency failed to adequately monitor the August 2010 race or properly follow procedures in granting permits to the race promoters.
While BLM spokesman David Briery from the California Desert District couldn’t talk about the lawsuit or whether it would further change race permitting, he said there have been some changes made since last year.
An adequate number of BLM rangers and recreation staff are required at all events, more oversight is given from the district and state offices of the bureau and field offices are only accepting complete event applications with a map and details of how permitees will manage health, safety, first aid and payment of fees.
More than 89 event applications in the California Desert District have come in within the last year, including some for the Superstition Mountain area, he said. Of that total number, a dozen have been denied for a variety of issues, including not enough BLM staff available, safety concerns and not enough time to process the application.
El Centro racer Cameron Corfman said that some of those changes were bound to come down sooner or later. The regulations that are being enforced have been on the books for a long time, but they’ve never really been enforced.
The accident last year was a tragedy he wouldn’t wish on anybody, Corfman said, who expressed sorrow for those who lost their lives or loved ones in the incident.
However, from a racer’s point of view, he said he thinks those filing the suit are taking it too far. It was a closed track, but it is open desert, and the bureau doesn’t have the resources to patrol every mile of the race courses. People have to take responsibility for their own actions and where they were that day, he added.
The accident and this lawsuit have the potential to make a lot of changes for off-road racing, he said.
“I definitely think it will affect how desert racing will be in the future,” Corfman said.
There will be more red tape to go through, restrictions on spectators and more permitting issues, he said. The one thing it won’t change, though, is the racing vibe.
“Accidents happen all the time in off-road racing,” he said. “It’s a sad thing, but people love it, and they’re going to come back.”
Staff Writer Elizabeth Varin can be reached at evarin@ivpressonline.com or 760-337-3441.
The lawsuit, filed in San Diego federal court, seeks unspecified damages that could total millions of dollars from the driver involved in a multiple-fatal crash in the Mojave Desert, a race organizer and the federal government, reported the Associated Press. Eight people were killed and at least a dozen injured in August 2010 when a modified truck racing in the “California 200” slammed into spectators.
A lawyer for the wrongful death and personal injury suits said the race was carelessly planned with no concern for public safety. The Bureau of Land Management, which manages the public land the race was held on, as well as large areas in Imperial County, should not have granted the permits, the lawyer continued.
Changes sparked by the initial crash have already started to be implemented in local races, including the Rattlesnake Chase scheduled for Sept. 25, said Paul Kirby, RoadRunner Offroad Racing Club president. The off-road motorcycle club organizes races in Imperial County’s Plaster City and has had to deal with the new permitting process.
“It is a challenge,” he said. “It’s very structured. What used to be a very simple process, turning in an application three weeks ahead of time, now we have to turn in 180 days ahead of time.”
The extra time is not the only change, as race organizers are having to pay more to have BLM personnel on site, he said. A race last year cost about $1,500 in government fees, but that same one earlier this year jumped up to more than $8,500 for those same government fees. It’s all due to the bureau recovering more costs.
On a positive note, Roadrunner Racing has been working closely with the bureau, and the bureau has agreed not to charge any cost recovery fees for the race next week, Kirby said. That’s an encouraging sign.
“We’re just getting better,” he said. “Both sides are getting better at putting races on.”
With the lawsuit, there could be more challenges ahead, Kirby said.
The local bureau office has told him in the past that if there is litigation, races will be put on hold, he said. While the Sept. 25 Rattlesnake Chase has already been permitted, the future of other races is not clear.
“I worry every day that this is going to be our last race,” he said.
The local group is already ready to cancel one race in March 2012 because the government fees are going up, he said. The King National, a race held locally for competitors throughout the nation, will not be held in 2012.
Changes in the federal permitting process stemmed from an internal review by the Bureau of Land Management. That review concluded that the agency failed to adequately monitor the August 2010 race or properly follow procedures in granting permits to the race promoters.
While BLM spokesman David Briery from the California Desert District couldn’t talk about the lawsuit or whether it would further change race permitting, he said there have been some changes made since last year.
An adequate number of BLM rangers and recreation staff are required at all events, more oversight is given from the district and state offices of the bureau and field offices are only accepting complete event applications with a map and details of how permitees will manage health, safety, first aid and payment of fees.
More than 89 event applications in the California Desert District have come in within the last year, including some for the Superstition Mountain area, he said. Of that total number, a dozen have been denied for a variety of issues, including not enough BLM staff available, safety concerns and not enough time to process the application.
El Centro racer Cameron Corfman said that some of those changes were bound to come down sooner or later. The regulations that are being enforced have been on the books for a long time, but they’ve never really been enforced.
The accident last year was a tragedy he wouldn’t wish on anybody, Corfman said, who expressed sorrow for those who lost their lives or loved ones in the incident.
However, from a racer’s point of view, he said he thinks those filing the suit are taking it too far. It was a closed track, but it is open desert, and the bureau doesn’t have the resources to patrol every mile of the race courses. People have to take responsibility for their own actions and where they were that day, he added.
The accident and this lawsuit have the potential to make a lot of changes for off-road racing, he said.
“I definitely think it will affect how desert racing will be in the future,” Corfman said.
There will be more red tape to go through, restrictions on spectators and more permitting issues, he said. The one thing it won’t change, though, is the racing vibe.
“Accidents happen all the time in off-road racing,” he said. “It’s a sad thing, but people love it, and they’re going to come back.”
Staff Writer Elizabeth Varin can be reached at evarin@ivpressonline.com or 760-337-3441.
