After the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit (see here), it is the turn of the Ricardo Tormo circuit to complete some always welcome safety improvements.
Here again, as in Barcelona, theastroturf was removed in favor of a cemented surface painted green (see our file here). This concerns the outside of the Nico Terol and Ángel Nieto corners.
But the bulk of the work, which was spread over four days, was the improvement of safety in certain run-off zones, namely in the first turn and #12.
In the first curve, emphasis was placed on deepening the gravel layer forming the safety zone. During the four days of work, the existing gravel was removed, then the ground was dug out approximately 40 centimeters in order to increase by more than 700 tonnes the amount of gravel slowing a vehicle before it reaches the guardrail of this Aspar curve.
The most important action, however, was carried out in the Champi Herreros curve, located before the parabolic which leads to the last left turn before the finish line.
The escape zone has been expanded by approximately 600 square meters. This work began two months ago, without interfering with the activity of the track. New protective walls have been placed, more effective than the safeguard that existed until now. In total, 163 meters of safety walls and 1.500 tonnes of gravel were installed to secure the area in the event of drivers losing control of their vehicle in turn #12.
