Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/634260
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 31 JANUARY 2016 6 News MIRIAM DALLI A magisterial inquiry into last year's tragic accident during Paqpaqli ghall-Istrina has exonerated Presi- dent Marie Louise Coleiro Preca from any involvement in the organi- sation or preparatory meetings lead- ing up to the event. It was concluded that multimil- lionaire Paul Bailey is the main per- son to be blamed for the accident that landed 23 in hospital while the core organising committee should be held responsible for the "second- ary causes" of the accident – mainly due to the lack of proper health and safety measures. The inquiry, led by Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera, left it up to the prosecution to determine who of the 11-strong organising commit- tee should be held responsible and on what basis. Attempts to contact Tonio Dar- manin – the person most publicly identifiable with the organisation of the event – proved to be futile. On the other hand, Tonio Cini – a member of the core committee and president of the Malta Motorsports Federation – told MaltaToday that it would not be prudent to comment at this stage. Paqpaqli ghall-Istrina has become an annual appointment with the general public and motorsport en- thusiasts who flock to the venue to watch car driving and static displays. Held under the auspices of the Of- fice of the President, the event is or- ganised on a voluntary basis in aid of the Malta Community Chest Fund. The President, the inquiry con- cluded, did not actively participate in the organisation of the activity but a member of the core commit- tee would report back to the Office of the President on the decisions of the committee. The official did not hold any par- ticular role in the committee, except for helping the members requiring the assistance of the Office of the President. Coleiro Preca did not comment on the conclusions of the inquiry but once again expressed solidarity with the victims of the tragedy and their families. "No words can soothe or console the victims. The accident remains an ugly memory of a solidarity activ- ity which turned into a tragedy," she said, adding that she would remain close to the victims and their fami- lies. Paul Bailey: amateur driver with expensive tastes in cars Briton Paul Bailey may be charged in court with involuntarily causing the accident and injuring dozens of spectators after the inquiry found that he was not a professional driv- er. The cause of the accident was put down to excessive speed, lack of driver experience and human error. It transpires that none of the organ- ising committee members verified whether Bailey was a professional driver. Bailey's sole attraction to the event was his collection of expensive hybrid cars. It remains unclear how Bailey came to be driv- ing his Porsche 918 Spyder on the racing track. Foreign instruc- tors brought to Malta by Continental Cars were tasked with de- signing a racing course to be used by a Porsche 911 and a BMW M4. In fact, Bailey was never given any information on the design of the track or signage. On the eve of the event, the cars sponsored by Conti- nental Cars were taken to the track for a trial run but Bailey never tested the track. He was not even involved in its design. Experts helping the inquiry believe that it was never Bailey's original intention to drive the car and their suspicions were further corrobo- rated by different application forms and liability statements signed. For one to drive the Porsche 991 GT3 and the BMW M4, applicants had to sign a 'super car, drivers and riders application form and liabil- ity statement', against a donation of €150. To ride these vehicles, passen- gers had to donate €75. Those who rode in the Spyder did not receive a receipt similar to those who rode the supercars. The inquiry also understood that Bailey's four hybrid cars were meant to be used for static display. According to the experts, Bailey's lack of professional understanding in driving the car was revealed in the manner he reacted when the car skidded. The track was designed for a maxi- mum velocity of 200kmph, down to 10kmph when passing through the chicane. Heading towards the second chi- cane, Bailey was driving at 170kmph- 180kmph. He felt the car fishtailing Racing track was never designed to be used by the Porsche 918 Spyder driven by multimillionaire Paul Bailey Lax health and safety measures Paqpaqli ghall-Istrina promoter Tonio Darmanin (left) and multimillionaire Paul Bailey, who was driving the Porsche Paqpaqli ghall-Istrina was raising funds for the Community Chest Fund, under the auspices of the Office of the President