The FIA Institute has been working on a number of projects to increase the overall level of safety in karting.

New high seat designs, a collapsible steering column and improved body protection are all on the agenda for introduction into karting competition in the near future. The FIA Institute is working with the Commission Internationale de Karting-FIA (CIK-FIA), the UK Motor Sport Association and the Deutsche Motor Sport Bund to progress these projects.

FIA Institute’s Head of Research Hubert Gramling said: “Safety cannot be achieved by a single measure. The new rear bumpers reduce the risk of launching the karts but there are other reasons for this than wheel contact. That is why we have a high seat which gives the occupant some survival space if a kart turns over and a high performance helmet to protect the head.

“In frontal impacts chest injury is a major concern. We are working on a deformable steering column to better align the steering wheel with the driver’s chest and mitigate the impact but also on chest protectors which spread the load not only in frontal impacts.“ Steering column testing will define the key parameters for improved designs. A steering column must be relatively soft during a crash but stiff and strong during normal racing.

The prototypes are being carefully tuned for both race and crash conditions. Recent testing has shown that this can be achieved for bambinis, juniors and seniors with just one part.

The FIA Institute is also progressing the new body protector project. A well-designed body protector must be light, thin and flexible for normal racing, but provide effective energy absorption, load spreading and penetration resistance during a crash. The FIA Institute is developing systems that achieve all these objectives within a reasonable cost.