[brentil]

[6] - What's this about roll-bars/cages?

A roll-bar/cage is an addition to your car that is either welded or bolted to provide support in the event of a roll over. The thing is though, neither are required to do SOLO II events. If you plan on doing SOLO II as a hobby, and feel safe enough with your car as is you don't have to go this route. However if you plan on doing this full time on more then a hobby level then at least going with a roll-bar would be a very good invesment.

This is a fairly complex subject involving a lot of numbers, angles, percentages, clearances, etc. The best thing to really do is read over the rules attached very carefully. It is possible to make removable roll-bars but they require a lot more work to be legal. The following paragraph from the rules is probably oen of the most informative ones.

The top of the roll bar shall not be below the top of the driver’s helmet when the driver is in normal driving position, and shall not be more than six inches behind the driver. It is strongly suggested that the roll bar extend at least three inches above the driver’s helmet. In case of two driver cars, both drivers must be within the roll bar height requirement, however only one driver must be within six inches of the roll bar. In a closed car equipped with a roll bar/cage, it must be as close as possible to the interior top of the car.

The main issue is at the time of writing this (2006.02.28) there are no known roll-bars created or in production for purchase by customers. I've therefore attached several iamges of other roll-bars to give an idea of what to possibly expect.