How do you address liability

I'm considering putting together an Endurance "Team" (me and two of my buddies) racing a bike I own. We will share maintenance and race costs equally but I'm not sure how to address the cost of repairing the bike after a crash.

Does the bike owner bear the full cost of the repairs? More importantly, if one of the Racers that doesn't own the bike is seriously injured or killed what liability does the bike owner have?

 

The way we work it is this:
Everyone is entitled to one "Team crash"....meaning, your first crash costs are shared equally by all 3 riders. After that, your crashes are your responsibility to repair or replace.
As far as liability, there is none in racing. We all knowingly accept the risks involved every time we suit up. I am certain that your racing series has a waiver where you sign your life away every time you enter a race.

 

There are lots of assumptions about what is standard procedure for team agreements. I think too many teams "wing it" and end up splitting up with one or more members disgruntled.
Best advice I can give is to decide what makes YOU comfortable and find teammates who agree and abide with YOUR terms.

 

That's the number one thing I hear from guys who raced endurance in the past.

 

This adresses one of my biggest concerns. I'm not one to "wing it" and don't want to risk destroying a friendship because there is a misunderstanding of how the Team operates. As the bike owner I will take your advice about finding Racers that will agree to the rules that make me comfortable.

Omnivore --- I like the concept of one "Team Crash".

Mongo --- The agreement will definitely be in writing.

 

If making a contract, make sure you put in the crash section:

Crashing policy:

In an event of a crash, no matter how bad it looks like its going to hurt, is already hurting, or has already hurted, DO NOT LET GO OF THE BIKE!!!!!!!! Letting go of the bike can cause the bike to damage itself by kick its own ass via cart-wheeling! Please advise, if bike cart-wheels, I own your vehicle till bike is repaired...

 

Cool, I always wanted a van. Let me know when you will be delivering it.

 

Shut yer face! I did more damage to my suit than yer bike! i.e. I was under the bike!

 

^ This guy is a team player!! lol

 

Hey, we have done the Endurance series for 3 years now. Here is some info on how we run things.

There is no liability to the Team Captain / Owner. If you are worried about that have your team members sign something about this using the same language that is in the WERA form that you sign before you enter the track.

In our case I am the Team Captain / Owner and I own an maintain and prepare the bike before every race and for the entire season. This is a critical and time consuming job (on top of your Sprint bike), but someone must be 100% accountable for this or your bike will not finish the endurance races.

Before we start the season I give all the team members a yearly race budget (detailed for every round) and their portion of the costs and ask them to commit to that both financially and to show up at the races. If for some work related reason they cannot make it to one race we figure something out with the costs.

Here is what my team agrees to:

Crash Rules:

If you crash the bike you will pay for the parts.
I will do all I can to fix the bike myself.
If I need shop work, you will also pay for that.
I will not charge you for all the labor I put in the bike
nor all the tear and wear and beating the bikes takes.
But you can buy me dinner for all that trouble…

Blown Engine Rule:

If the engine blows up all the team members pay for the cost to repair it or replace it (buy one complete motor). Average cost for a low mileage 201X GSX-R600 is $2,000-$2,500 divided by number of team members. So $750-$850 is your maximum financial exposure. (and this is why we use a totally “stock” motor, because they never blow).

If you crash as a result of the engine blowing / crash on your own oil: we all pay for the engine, but the racer that crashed pays for the crashed parts.

IF YOU DESYROY the bike rule:

If the bike is totalled, you must immediately buy a used 201X GSXR600 on e-bay or similar year racebike or some kind of 201X GSXR600 with low mileage.
Then we will combine the race parts that are still good from the crashed bike onto the new bike (like Ohlins, Bazzaz etc.). Then you must buy all the replacements parts necessary like fairings, brackets, bars, rear set etc.
You can salvage the left over parts from the crashed bike and the street fairings / lights from the new e-bay bike and sell them on e-bay to recoup some money. (probably $2,000).
Estimated cost exposure is $8,000 for a 201X GSXR on e-bay and $3,000 to $7,000 for parts less the amounts of salvaged parts re-sold..
So you could be out of pocket up to $11,000 to $ 15,000 as maximum cost exposure.
The point is that we need to have a bike for the entire season so it must be fixed asap. If you cannot afford the Maximum $15,000 risk exposure, do not crash or do not race…☺

Then there are all the unknown scenarios for the "direct racing costs" to be pro-rated by racer, like WERA Fees-Tires-Fuel etc: : 2 hours of red flags out of a 4 hours race: who pays for what. Same for the scenario where someone crashes the bike after 45 minutes: who pays for what etc.

Based on my experience the most important thing is to have a group of good friends racing with you so you can fairly overcome any difficulties and have a good time. Because if you are not having a good time... something is wrong!

MP

FYI: based on what I have heard most endurance team break up because: the bike keeps on breaking down, racers do not pay their bills or do not get along or all of the above. Good luck. PM me if you have more questions.

 

Excellent post Michel, and very helpful :up:

 

For me it was always team game, we crash we pay.

 

Michel,

Thanks for the post.

I hadn't yet thought about bike prep and maintenance. Your point about one person being accountable for it is, IMHO, the way to go.

An agreement up front with the other members of the Team is what I'm after. Trying to figure this out as we go would be a recipe for disaster.