Monaco de Trois-Rivières: Ayrton Climo was driving much too fast, according to a flagman
Christian Parent was the flagman assigned to turn 5 at the time of the accident in 2014. He was in his 4th year as a volunteer flagman in Monaco de Trois-Rivières.
Last week, 2 prosecution experts concluded that the accident could have been avoided if Turn 5 had been laid out according to plan or if plastic barriers rather than hay bales had been placed in the impact zone .
Remember that Ayrton Climo was seriously injured coming out of the 5th corner in 2014. His rear wheel hit a hay bale and he was ejected from his racing car. He found himself on the track and was pleased by vehicles taking part in the test.
He suffered a serious head trauma and still lives today with the consequences of this accident.
Neglected corrections at the turn a few hours before the race
Christian Parent told the court that he reported to the central a problem with the roadway in turn number 5, the day before the accident.
Thus, according to him, on the day of the accident, a concrete repair had been carried out at the bend, so that the vehicles were no longer destabilized.
The signalman also noticed that the more the practices evolved, the more the pilots piled up on the repair so as to leave completely outside the yellow line.
Christian Parent is categorical. When exiting the bend [celle d’Ayrton Climo]I immediately said to myself: “He will not pass the corner”
said the signaller.
The volunteer signaller says that Ayrton Climo’s racing car was not destabilized by the patching of concrete, on the contrary. According to him, the pilot arrives much too quickly and with too much amplitude.
He said he threw up his blue flag and ran towards the track, yelling at the drivers to stop before impact.
After the impact that threw Ayrton Climo in the center of the track, he first saw him get hit hard on the helmet by a kart, then get passed over his legs by another racing car before a third pilot stops by hitting his ribs.
Christian Parent says the bend was widened in 2014 to give competitors a better view of the rest of the course. Several riders had complained that the previous year’s setup didn’t allow visibility out of the turn.
The signalman affirms that contacts and incidents are always numerous in karting races and that the year 2014 at the Monaco of Trois-Rivières was not worse than another.
The man claims to have been a signalman on 500 to 600 courses. He says he has already seen pilots being ejected from their karts and sustaining injuries after an impact against a plastic slide.
He also specifies that bales of hay are regularly used during races, contrary to what was said by the witnesses for the prosecution, in particular in Las Vegas where he was often called upon to work.
Other defense witnesses will be heard in the coming days. Monaco, the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières, the Eastern Canadian Karting Championship and the National Motorsport Authority ASN Canada will try to convince judge Philippe Cantin that they are not responsible for the accident. .
With information from Amélie Desmarais