Motorcycle speedway claims 4th victim

The death of a novice motorcycle sidecar racer in Auckland at the weekend was the country's fourth fatal motorbike speedway accident in three years.

Karl Barritt was the passenger, or swinger, on a machine ridden by veteran competitor Brian Kilkolly, also of Wanganui, at Rosebank Speedway on Sunday night.

On the last lap of the final race, their machine hit another in front at 80km/h, then went off the track and hit the wall.

Mr Barritt, 22, died a short time later in Auckland Hospital from head injuries. Mr Kilkolly was treated for minor injuries and discharged.

The machine they clipped, spun out but carried on with the race until it was called off.

Wanganui Speedway president Steve Heibner said Mr Barritt, who was single and a plumber by trade, had raced sidecars since the season began in October.

He had "found his sport" after stints with trailbikes, go-karts and hunting.

"He was a good, keen swinger and could have gone a long way in the sport."

Mr Heibner said sidecar racing was one of the most dangerous sports, yet he had seen horrific crashes where people had "got up and walked away".

"It's just one of those freak things."

The rider of the leading machine, Nick Edmonds, of Auckland, said Mr Barritt and Mr Kilkolly were shaping up as a promising combination after racing successfully at Palmerston North and Wanganui meetings.

Mr Edmonds said the sport was safe, "but it's also a race and anything can go wrong ... "

Speedway NZ chief steward Jake Pullman would not comment on reports that the machine's throttle had jammed. He said the cause of the crash was being investigated with the Auckland police serious crash unit.

In November 2002, at Rosebank Speedway, a rider was killed after falling off his bike and being run over.

Two sidecar riders died in the last two years in crashes at Ruapuna Speedway, Christchurch.