The Audru track meets international standards, and the death of Latvian motor sportsman Jura Apiņas on Saturday, June 1, most likely occurred due to a combination of unfavorable circumstances, according to the operator of the Audru track, Andres Hall.
He says that the safety of Estonia’s only motor racing track “Porsche ring” has always been the company’s priority, and Saturday’s tragedy is a shock. “We take this incident very seriously and will order the reconstruction of the track, which will prevent the recurrence of such an accident,” assured Hall, the manager of the route operator “Rada”.
He assures that the Audra track meets the fourth generation standards of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), and it has been tested several times by both the Estonian Automobile Federation and the FIA. The FIA has also issued a proper license for track maintenance. The Estonian Motorcycling Federation also recognized the track as adequate, and the inspectors never commented on the sixth turn, near which the tragedy happened.
“The storm roundabout has been operating in its current form since 2013. In a normal situation, in the event of an accident, neither the driver nor the vehicle should slide in this direction,” says Hall.
“The Storm Course has the largest starting areas in the region and, like the starting areas of other courses in the region, has a grass surface,” explains Hall. “There are no tracks with paved or gravel exits in the Baltic states. Since the accident did not occur in the exit area, the surface material would not make a difference in this case.”
This is the first tragedy in the history of the Audru route. According to Hall, falls and accidents cannot be prevented 100% in motorsport. This requires special attention to be paid to the safety of the tracks. “I assure you that we are very eager to find out the causes of the accident, we are cooperating with the Estonian Motorcycling Federation in every possible way and will take measures to prevent such incidents from happening again,” said Hall.
He emphasized that works have been ordered in the area of the track next week in the vicinity of the sixth turn to eliminate the drainage ditch near the accident site and to raise the ground level in front of the tire barrier.
On behalf of the company, Halls expresses its condolences to the relatives of Apiņš.
It has already been announced that Apinis died on Saturday, June 1, at the Audra track, while preparing for the competition in the “Superstock 600” class. Due to the tragic accident, all races scheduled for the weekend at the Porsche ring track have been cancelled. The first stage of the Baltic and Latvian championship was planned there this weekend.
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