31/03/09 - The findings of a Court of Enquiry, convened by Motorsport South Africa, to investigate all aspects of the Gydo King of the Mountain event held in the Ceres-district, in which spectators were injured in two separate incidents on Sunday 30 November, have been finalized.

The Court found that the event's own popularity had in effect been its undoing, in as much as the number of people attending the event had grown to a point where it substantially exceeded the carrying capacity of the mountain pass.

The Court said whilst it understood the difficulties in policing an event of this nature, it was clear that the organisers were not fully in control of the pass.

It appeared to the Court that the organising club, the Clerk of the Course, the appointed Steward, and those responsible for the sporting side of the event did everything that would have been expected from a competent and proficient organising team in charge of an event of this nature.

The Court found that the Witzenberg Motor Club, were, in the context of the Motorsport regulations both promoter and organiser of the event and that the responsibility for any shortcomings in the event must rest on their shoulders. This applies, whether or not they were directly responsible for the failures and regardless of the division of duties which may have taken place internally between themselves and a certain Mr Wilder.

The only point on which the Court leveled direct criticism at the door of the Clerk of the Course and the Steward of the event relates to the question of whether, having regard to the spectator problems and the ability to keep control of spectators, they should not have terminated the event earlier in the interests of safety.

Both the Clerk of the Course and the Steward however conceded that with the benefit of hindsight the activities should have been curtailed far earlier than they were.

The court was of the view that the event should have been stopped at an earlier point when it became apparent that it was not possible to control the crowd.

Whilst the Court understood the reluctance of the Clerk of the Course to terminate the event prematurely to the disappointment of both paying spectators and of competitors who may have spent a considerable amount of money in preparing for and travelling to the event, safety is a paramount consideration and once it can be considered that the organisers are no longer in full control the point has been reached where the event must be stopped. The court found further that constant warnings will not always be sufficient where it is clear that those warnings are not
being heeded.

It was the view of this court as stated above, that both the Clerk of the Course and the Steward failed to take appropriate action in respect of the regulations and as such erred in their judgement.