Speedway death sparks inquiry

By Andrew Young and Colin Smith

Speedway safety is again under scrutiny after the death at the weekend of an Auckland racer in front of thousands of spectators.

Robert Lee Leonard, aged 38 of Kumeu, died at Western Springs Speedway on Saturday night.

His death follows a string of speedway injuries in the past two years; in one accident, an 8-year-old spectator died.

The latest death, before about 3000 people, has sparked a double investigation by police and Speedway New Zealand.

Mr Leonard crashed at the start of the midget car invitation race.

He was thrown out his car while it was flipping and suffered fatal head injuries.

It is suspected that his seatbelt securing mechanism unfastened during the accident, but Western Springs promoter Willie Kay said it was inappropriate to speculate while investigations continued.

He said all drivers had a full safety equipment check before each race.

Safety scrutineers had been interviewed and a full report would be made to Speedway New Zealand.

Mr Kay said speedway racing had to be seen in the context of sports in the 1990s, where people were keen on adrenalin-pumping, fast-paced events like whitewater rafting and bungi jumping.

"It's tragic we get this wake-up call to remind us of the dangers," he said.

The last fatality at Western Springs was in the 1985-86 season, when a driver died after his car rolled.

In early 1997, Speedway New Zealand looked into a run of accidents involving spectators.

In January that year, five people were struck by flying debris from a sprint car at Western Springs.

A fortnight later, 8-year-old Katrina Le Sueur of Henderson was killed when she was hit by a flying wheel at Waikaraka Speedway in Onehunga.

The next month a woman was knocked to the ground by a tyre at races in Nelson.

In March 1997, a 51-year-old woman driver died after a pile-up at Stratford Speedway.

And in December last year, a mother suffered a gash to her hand after blocking a piece of flying debris from hitting her sleeping baby at Western Springs.

Detective Senior Sergeant Todd Pearce said the latest fatality appeared to have been an unfortunate accident.

An independent expert would check Mr Leonard's car and police would look at amateur video footage of the accident today.