ASN Safety Bulletin #13 Karting Body Protection

Dear Colleagues,

In 2018, the FIA published the FIA Standard 8870-2018 “Karting Body Protection (KBP)”, a safety device created to combine a rib and chest protector, while enabling free movement of the arms, body, head and neck while being worn. These devices approved by FIA are published in the TL 87.

The KBPs are designed to protect competitors against impact with flat or curved structures and impact with sharp or pointed objects. The FIA Standard prescribes design and performance requirements for body protection to be used in karting competition. The FIA-approved KBPs must withstand at least 60J of energy to chest and 100J to the ribs while ensuring that the force transmitted to the competitor’s body is less than 1kN during an impact.

(Approved under FIA 8870-2018)

Figure 1 Karting Body Protection (Chest + Rib) 

The Karting Body Protection was introduced in FIA Karting Championships, Cups and Trophies in 2021 and from January 2022, it is also compulsory to be used by competitors in all karting competitions entered on the FIA International Sporting Calendar.

In order to allow drivers to select a KBP that is comfortable, Article 7.5 of the 2022 FIA Karting Technical Regulation allows drivers to wear the karting body protection of the correct size, or up to one size down. e.g. a competitor with a height of 1500mm may select one of two ranges: 1160 to 1340 mm or 1340 to 1520 mm. The FIA Standard also allows the KBP manufacturers to manufacturer customised products when drivers cannot find an "off the shelf" comfortable KBP. 

In addition to the above and with the purpose of increasing comfort for female competitors, the FIA Standard has specific design requirements for the female KBP which allows cut-outs on the rib protector to ensure comfort and fit around the chest area. Currently there is one female KBP approved by FIA. This information is shown in the TL 87.

Figure 2 KBP with cut-outs for Female Competitors

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In 2018, the FIA published the FIA Standard 8870-2018 “Karting Body Protection (KBP)”, a safety device created to combine a rib and chest protector, while enabling free movement of the arms, body, head and neck while being worn. These devices approved by FIA are published in the TL 87. Since then, the KBP was introduced in FIA Karting Championships, Cups and Trophies in 2021 and from January 2022, it is also compulsory to be used by competitors in all karting competitions entered on the FIA International Sporting Calendar.

#FIAVisionZero

Best regards,

FIA Safety Department

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To read the other articles about the ASN Safety Bulletins, please visit the FIA website. You can also read by clicking here.