A coronial inquest has heard spectator safety measures were "grossly lacking" when a man was killed last year at a notorious off-road racing event in outback Australia.
Canberra retiree Nigel Harris, 60, died when he was struck by a vehicle that veered off the track during the Finke Desert Race in Alice Springs in June.
His death is the second fatality in the race's 45-year history, after a competing motorcyclist died in 2008.
Counsel Assisting the Coroner, Jodi Truman, said an assessment — conducted weeks before the incident — rated the risk of a spectator dying as "extreme".
"Spectator collision with a competitor's vehicle was also given a high-risk rating and spectator safety was given a medium-risk rating," she said.
The court also heard that despite more than 10,000 spectators expected at the event, "there was no appointment of any person in the role of spectator safety or spectator safety marshals".
'This guy's gonna film his own death'
Bunting and markers were placed along the track to designate where spectators were allowed to go, Ms Truman said.
However, she said the bunting at the location where Mr Harris died did not match the design outlined in the event's unsafe area guide, nor did it say how far back spectators should stand to be in a "safe" area.
"There are various images — some very distressing — as to just how close Mr Harris was," Ms Truman told the court.
"One of the witnesses who gave a statement to police in fact recalled that he thought 'this guy's gonna film his own death'."
One witness, Don MacAulay, told the court Mr Harris was standing just one to two metres from the track when he was hit.
Mr MacAulay also said that at the spot where the two were standing before the crash, there was no bunting, fencing, caution signs, or safety marshals in the immediate surrounds.
The court also heard two people in official uniforms who were at the location "took no, or very little, action with respect to where Mr Harris or other spectators were located in the lead up to the crash".
Ms Truman told the court there were "many people" standing in the location where Mr Harris was struck.
"He most certainly was not there on his own," she said.
Patrick Byrne, the driver of the trophy truck that crashed into Mr Harris, told the court Finke was unlike any other race he had competed in.
He said at other races, spectators were always either behind a barricade or about 30 metres back from the track, but at Finke, spectators would stand right on the sidelines.
"Some tracks have a physical barrier when spectators are closer, sometimes even a freeway," he said.
"Otherwise they are 30 metres back with fencing or bunting outlining where they can stand. It would be a distance just so we would have enough room to stop if something happens."
Ms Truman told the court there was "nothing particular" about Mr Byrne's driving style nor vehicle that made him more dangerous than other competitors.
'There are risks with motorsport'
Counsel representing Motor Sports Australia (MSA), Bruce Hodgkinson SC, said some risk was unavoidable at an event like the Finke Desert Race.
"There are risks with motorsport, but they are … to be minimised, and they're to be minimised in every way that they can," he said.
"Unfortunately, given that we have 226-kilometre track which is publicly and easily accessible at many, many locations, it's not always possible to ensure that every spectator doesn't at some point decide to take a risk."
Mr Hodgkinson said although safety measures played an important role in motor sports events, it was not possible to eliminate risk entirely.
"There is a reality when dealing with this type of track … that there is always a risk that a spectator or spectators might take a risk and stand too close to the track," he said.
Finke committee member Josh Clarke, who was referred to as a "safety spectator officer" in at least one document tendered to the court, refused to give evidence at the inquest.
Mr Clarke's counsel later said he had advised his client not to answer questions, given NT WorkSafe was currently investigating the death and was still deciding whether to lay charges.
