Motorsport Australia to make onboard fire systems mandatory

Motorsport Australia will soon confirm plans of a change to the safety regulations for circuit racing vehicles competing at all national level events.

The change is centred around fire safety with the introduction of a compulsory onboard and plumbed-in fire system for all race vehicles competing at national level circuit racing events.

The change is expected to be made compulsory for the start of next year (2024) across all national level series.

Under the current Motorsport Australia regulations, very few categories actually need to have any form of fire extinguisher carried inside the car.

The requirement for a single fire extinguisher to be carried in the car at national level events was removed many years ago, however the Toyota 86 Series is one category that continues to have small hand held extinguishers fitted to the floor of the car.

Top level categories such as Supercars, GT and Porsche Carrera Cup all have these onboard systems fitted as part of their regulations, and although not mandated-many competitors choose to fit these far safer onboard systems themselves.

The changes to the regulations will affect all Production cars, Toyota 86s, Aussie Racing Cars, Sports Sedans and Touring Car Masters to name a few.

The regulations will mandate the minimum fitment of a system that is homologated on the FIA technical List 16 System.

Typically these systems have a pressurised bottle mounted in the car or around 2.0 to 3.0 litres of fire retardant compound, sometimes liquid, sometimes a form of oxygen depleting gas. From the mounted bottle plumbed in lines delivery fire retardant to key areas such as the engine bay and drivers compartment. Pressured bottles have to be serviced every two years and replaced every 10 years.

These systems can be both manually and electrically activated from both inside and outside the vehicles and make for a much safer environment for competitors.

While this significant improvement in safety will come at a cost, it is believed that systems which comply to the FIA list 16 can be purchased from around $600.

A typical and simple in race car fire suppression system, in this case mechanically operated with 5 spray nozzles

CLICK HERE FOR A LIST OF FIRE SYSTEMS APPROVED BY FIA

Image: Fox Sports

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