Impact withdraws appeal of decertification ...

for pre 2009 products. Not the result I'd expected.


April 21, 2010 - SFI issues the following press release. Please review this carefully:

1. Impact Racing has withdrawn its appeal of the decertifications of its products bearing SFI 3.2A, 3.3, 16.1, and 16.5 specifications manufactured in the years 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. The decertifications of these products are now permanent.

2. The decertifications are based upon a number of the affected products being non- compliant with SFI specifications concerning labeling and construction. In addition to the presence of non-compliant SFI tags and the absence of DOMs on products, 3.2A/5 suits made prior to 2009 have been constructed with non-compliant materials that, in SFI’s judgment, pose a safety risk to users of these suits.

3. Impact Racing is permitted to maintain the certification for products bearing SFI 3.2A, 3.3, 16.1, and 16.5 specifications manufactured in 2009 and 2010. SFI’s investigation of the labeling and construction of these products is ongoing. Impact’s participation in the SFI specification programs ends June 22, 2010.

4. Any Impact product with SFI specifications 3.2A, 3.3, 16.1, and 16.5 without a date of manufacture (DOM) is deemed to be a decertified product unless the manufacturer has provided the product user with proof that it was manufactured in 2009 or 2010. This proof must be presented to track officials upon request. Impact believes that its products made in 2009 and 2010 have the DOMs affixed to products to the extent mandated by SFI specifications.

 

Impact fights on, notwithstanding the withdrawal of their appeal:



IMPACT PRESS RELEASE - APRIL 22nd 2010

Impact strongly disagrees with SFI’s decertification of its products manufactured in the years 2005-2008. Impact is working diligently to resolve this issue with SFI. Impact decided to stop the internal SFI appeal process because it became obvious that Impact could not get a fair hearing.

Impact’s track record of providing safety to racers is unmatched. There have been no burns or other injuries reported to Impact by any racer wearing Impact Race Products since its inception. Impact has seen drivers wearing its gear walk away unharmed from very serious explosions and wrecks. We stand behind the safety of our products 100% and have always placed the safety of racers at the forefront of our mission and company. Bill Simpson has worked at the goal of saving racers’ lives for over 52 years and his name is synonymous with motorsports safety.

Impact’s vocal position has been that SFI’s certification programs are seriously flawed and antiquated and do not address the issue of safety. Accordingly, SFI is applying standards to us that it has not applied to any other product manufacturer.

Impact regrets that SFI has chosen the path of decertification and lawsuits against Impact as a way to handle any concerns it has. Bill Simpson and Impact Racing have always worked closely with SFI and all sanctioning bodies to help improve driver safety in motorsports and come up with many innovations in safety. Impact would like to have resolved this issue in a different way. Unfortunately, SFI’s actions have caused racers unnecessarily to question their safety.

Impact will do everything in its power to resolve this dispute and help our loyal customers through it. We are committed to clearing Impact’s name and moving onward with our job of providing the best safety equipment money can buy to racers across the country and world.

 

And SFI responds, saying that Impact suit threads actually melted during testing. Serious claims (my bold):

April, 2010

SFI PRESS RELEASE - Response to the Impact Racing Press Release of April 22, 2010

April 22, 2010 - Yesterday, SFI advised the racing community that Impact Racing suits bearing 3.2A/5 certifications “made prior to 2009 have been constructed with non-compliant materials that, in SFI’s judgment, pose a safety risk to users of those suits.” Impact responded by attacking SFI certification programs (although Impact and the other major equipment manufacturers have agreed to and participated in the development of these well-established programs); by claiming it could not get a fair hearing of the decertification appeal (although Impact asked for and received an expedited appeal procedure); and by claiming that “SFI’s actions have caused racers unnecessarily to question their safety.” It is this last point that requires a very specific response.

Scientific testing just conducted on 2008 Impact 3.2A/5 suits has determined that the thread melts away in a fire. This causes the fabric to come apart since there is no longer thread to hold the suit together. SFI believes this poses a significant safety risk to the racer involved in a fire. Rather than being constructed with Nomex (heat resistant) thread, the suits were constructed with some sort of unknown non-compliant thread that melts during heat testing. This thread failure is contrary to the SFI specifications that Impact agreed to follow.

The reason that this failure was not discovered sooner is that Impact provided SFI with Nomex thread samples in order to get their products tested and certified initially. Manufacturers are only supposed to provide samples of the actual materials to be used in their products. It appears that Impact failed to comply with this procedure regarding thread. Finally, one suit tested failed to have the proper thermal protective properties in the material itself. Again, such a failure poses a significant safety risk. This safety failure by Impact is consistent with a pattern of non-compliance:

1. Last year, SFI discovered that Impact SFI 3.2A/15 and SFI 3.2A/20 rated fire suits produced in 2007 and 2008 were also made with thread that melted during testing. In addition, these suits were often poorly constructed, without sufficient protective layers of Nomex material. SFI ordered the immediate decertification and recall of these potentially dangerous products.

2. Last year, SFI discovered that Impact SFI 3.3/15 and SFI 3.3/20 boots produced in 2008 were defective. Their materials failed heat resistant testing. SFI ordered the immediate decertification and recall of these potentially dangerous products.

3. Hans Performance Products discovered last year that Impact deliberately manufactured and sold counterfeit Hans helmet clips and attached them into the helmets of unsuspecting customers. These foreign made knock-offs were inscribed with the “SFI 38.1” inscription. Impact has never participated in this program. These counterfeiting activities were occurring at the same time that Impact was manufacturing counterfeit SFI conformance labels and patches. Hans filed suit against Impact in federal court last year in Atlanta. SFI intervened and joined in the suit against Impact. That suit is pending.

4. In 2004, SFI discovered that Impact gloves bearing SFI 3.3/20 specifications were made of material that was too light and failed heat resistance testing. SFI ordered their decertification and recall.

Impact’s press release claims that there “have been no burns or other injuries reported to Impact by any racer wearing Impact Race Products since its inception.” If this is true, the avoidance of injuries is due in large part to the policing of Impact products by SFI.

SFI was heartened when Impact finally admitted its own fault for previously making non-compliant gloves, boots, suits and helmet clips and acted to address those problems. SFI holds out the hope of a similar outcome regarding its pre-2009 3.2A, 3.3, 16.1 and 16.5 products, and that it will act in the best interests of the racing community without further prodding by SFI. However, admission of their fault will not change the fact that these products remain decertified and that Impact’s participation in all SFI programs will end June 22, 2010.

 

"This whole mess is painful to watch."


It really is incredible. I can hear the weeping of the lawyers and PR people.

I believe it's SFI's move.

Impact's strategy is to fight claims of noncomplaince with SFI standards by alleging that SFI doesn't understand fire suit construction, and that SFI refuses to change its standards even though racers would benefit from change. Uphill battle.