Death at Western Victorian burnout event highlights disputes in governance of Australian motorsport

The death of a spectator at the LOO5ENATS burnout event in Stawell in Western Victoria last November has highlighted divisions in the governance of Australian motorsport.

Trent Dezoete was walking to get food when a car on the burnout pad lost control and careened into the spectator-only F&B area at the event on Saturday 4th November.

Witnesses to the death at the LOO5ENATS speculated that the vehicle that lost control had experienced a brake failure after the burnout performance had concluded.

The 28-year-old driver of the vehicle was arrested and then released without charge by Victoria Police - who are understood to be continuing to investigate the incident.

Organised by the Stawell Motor Sports Club, the event's safety regulation and insurance provider, the Australian Auto Sport Alliance (AASA) is less well known than Motorsport Australia, the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) recognised national sporting organisation for Australian racing.

Motorsport Australia is backed by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the world governing body of motorsport, and is acknowledged by the ASC as "the pre-eminent body for motorsports in Australia ... responsible for the management and development decisions as relevant to their sport".

Formed in 2003 by the Benalla Auto Club amid dissatisfaction with Motorsport Australia, AASA is not recognised by the FIA but operates legally as a competing motorsport safety regulator, giving events a different set of rules they can choose instead of Motorsport Australia's regulations as well as a different insurance policy.

Facing increased safety regulation and rising insurance costs, AASA was founded with a goal "to reduce the cost of participation in circuit motorsport, to substantially reduce the bureaucratic red tape associated with running such events, and to provide an efficient and fair deal for all motorsport stakeholders".

While as of 2021, AASA Business Manager Stephen Whyte claimed their sanctioned events had operated "without death or serious injuries" since the Alliance's foundation, late 2023 saw two deaths at its events.

In addition to Dezoete, Shane Savage died while competing at an AASA-sanctioned Powercruise event in Queensland in September.

With Motorsport Australia and AASA having different rules regarding protections for spectators and competitors at burnout events, the deaths are expected to test the Alliance's insurance coverage.

Commenting on the matter to the ABC, motoring writer James Ward, who has participated in and commented on Australian motorsport for decades, advised "if you've got someone like Red Bull sponsoring your event, you can afford to go through the FIA-backed sanctioning body.

"(But) grassroots motorsport, club-level motorsport, even the privately run events like Targa have become almost prohibitively expensive to run (with Motorsport Australia).

Commenting on the two deaths last year, Ward noted "I don't think AASA has been tested with a really serious issue.

"Their overheads and their risk profile is slightly different to how Motorsport Australia approach these things - maybe they're taking a bit of that risk on themselves."

Coronial inquest into Finke death
In 2023, a Northern Territory Coronial inquest heard Motorsport Australia had not done enough to protect spectators before a death at the 2021 Finke Desert Race.

Speaking to the ABC, Motorsport Australia's Director of Motorsport, Michael Smith, said that outside the framework of the FIA "there's a financial interest (regarding) permits and sanction fees".

In a submission to the Queensland Transport and Public Works Committee, the Australian Institute of Motor Sport Safety, which is affiliated with Motorsport Australia, said the competition between sanctioning bodies was "like having a competing organisation to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority which could offer 'cut price' aircraft licensing with lower standards required.

"Or a competitor to ASIC (the Australian Securities and Investments Commission) which could have lower standards for corporate governance."

AASA responded to these concerns in a 2017 statement in which it noted "we get it. The AASA isn't the biggest, the oldest or endorsed by the FIA … but that doesn't mean we compromise on the quality, knowledge and safety standards of any of our officials, staff or competitors."

Motorsport event organisers pick sides
Autofest and Sprint Car Nationals Manager Les Adams is one of the motorsport organisers who has moved his events from Motorsport Australia to AASA.

Aware of both organisations' regulations, Adams recalls "we were actually the first burnout event 30 years ago."

At that time he notes, "myself and CAMS, which is now Motorsport Australia, sat down and agreed on the rulings for burnout competitions and as far as I know, them rulings are still in place."

He said that since switching to AASA about seven years ago, the rules for his events "are very similar, if not a bit stricter", adding "(AASA) actually attend most of our events. If they see any wrongdoing, they’ll shut us down there and then."

A recent ABC report indicated that many more events have switched from Motorsport Australia to AASA in the last two decades, mostly at the club and state level.

Different Rules and Regulations
While the organisers of smaller events have moved to AASA, Motorsport Australia has retained many of Australia's largest events, including the Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne, the Bathurst 1000, and the Finke Desert Race.

However, in 2023, two of Australia's biggest on road rally events, Targa Tasmania and Targa West, publicly split from Motorsport Australia over its review into safety and subsequent regulation changes.

Those changes included limits on average maximum speed, power-to-weight ratios, road selection, grading, in-car safety measures, course signage, the proximity of spectators to the track and protocols following an incident.

Targa West specifically cited these rule changes when it announced it would be signing with AASA.

However, Motorsport Australia disputes that safety regulation and insurance should be open to competition at all, with then Chief Executive Eugene Arocca said AASA advising in 2021 "the AASA is not a true sanctioning body and should not be entrusted with the responsibility of having any involvement in providing safety in motorsport."

Image credit: LOO5ENATS/Facebook.