SpeedVegas exec denies allegations in civil lawsuit

The top executive of the SpeedVegas track south of Las Vegas has denied allegations made in a civil suit filed Monday that calls for the attraction to be closed until safety improvements are made.

“SpeedVegas categorically denies the allegations made in the complaint,” SpeedVegas CEO Aaron Fessler said in a statement emailed late Wednesday.

“SpeedVegas engaged a panel of independent international track experts with more than 70 years of combined experience to assess our policies, procedures, design and safety systems. After extensive on-site inspections, each concluded that there is nothing inherently unsafe in either the design or operating procedures at SpeedVegas,” the statement said. “We will work vigorously to defend the company from unfounded allegations in the courtroom.”

Fessler did not name the track experts.

Francisco Durban, a SpeedVegas driving instructor since March 2016, filed suit in Clark County District Court seeking an order to close the track, which he alleges “is inherently, excessively and unnecessarily dangerous in design and operation.”

Attorneys for Durban on Tuesday filed an emergency motion with District Court Judge Joe Hardy to shut down the track. The judge has yet to rule on the request.

The lawsuit names SpeedVegas LLC, World Class Driving, which owns and operates the track, and real estate investor and broker Scott Gragson, who owns the track land, as defendants.

Durban said he and other drivers have been asked to sign an acknowledgment form that says “every precaution has been taken to ensure my safety as well as the safety of our guests.”

Durban, who asked track managers to move a concrete wall farther away from the track and to install Formula One-TECPRO safety barriers, said his suggestions weren’t taken when the track reopened for business on Feb. 22. He refused to sign the acknowledgment form and hasn’t worked since.

SpeedVegas voluntarily closed the attraction on Feb. 12 after a fiery crash of a Lamborghini Aventador that killed driving instructor Gil Ben-Kely, who was in the car’s passenger seat, and the vehicle’s driver, Canadian tourist Craig Sherwood.

The Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration office in Las Vegas is continuing to investigate the crash, which has been classified as an industrial accident.

The track’s driving instructors, including Durban, were required to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, perform a road test on the track and sign the acknowledgment form before they could return to work.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.