Motorsport Australia has issued an urgent update to owners and competitors following the deaths of two people at the Rainbow Desert Enduro.

The Australian Off Road Championship round was abandoned following an incident on Sunday morning.

It has since been revealed Gerry Hoekstra and Ede Taric both lost their lives while competing in a Can-Am Maverick X3 XRS Side by Side vehicle.

Victoria Police is continuing its investigation into the cause of the crash, with the assistance of Motorsport Australia and the Victorian Off Road Racing Association.

As that takes place, Motorsport Australia has introduced an interim measure mandating all offroad vehicles competing at events under its jurisdiction carry an additional fire extinguisher.

“Motorsport Australia can confirm that the Incident involved the Vehicle crashing and becoming engulfed with fire and it is currently investigating the condition of the Vehicle, the fuel system and fuel tanks in use and the cause/s of the Incident and the fire,” a statement from the national governing body announced.

“As an interim measure, from Monday 12 September, 2022, Motorsport Australia requires ALL off road vehicles competing under Motorsport Australia sanction to carry additional hand held fire extinguishers, such that all off road vehicles must now carry an additional 2kg (minimum) of extinguisher/s to those already mandated in accordance with Motorsport Australia Manual; Technical Appendix – Schedule H Fire Extinguishers*. This brings the total required capacity of fire extinguisher/s onboard to 4kg.

“The additional 2kg** extinguisher/s must be mounted in accordance with Schedule H, however the additional extinguisher/s will not be required to be mounted within reach of the driver (or crew) and may be mounted external to the cockpit.

“Competitors and owners should be aware of this information and consider carefully whether it is appropriate to compete in any side by side or off road vehicle pending finalisation of our investigations.”

* Schedule H is being amended to reflect the changes in this Notice and owners and competitors are encouraged to visit motorsport.org.au to view the amended regulation

** The minimum capacity of 2kg may be made up by the fitment of 2 x 1kg extinguishers.