Places for races: inside the circuits and services at the beating heart of motorsport

Introduction
CIRCUITS
SERVICES
About
RIGHT: Olaf Bierfreund, director and cofounder
of C&O Innov8 Consulting
IT’S ABOUT MAKING
SURE THAT THE TRACK IS
A SAFE ENVIRONMENT IN
EVERY SINGLE WAY.”
“Generally across the industry now a
lot of the design companies are using
that method,” says Willshire. “I would
say probably in the last two years, it’s
become more of an industry standard.
“The FIA have taken quite an interest in
that technique. I think they’ve found it quite
useful for their own assessments of tracks.
“And also, the way the design industry
is moving, forgetting motorsport, if you
look at architecture and engineering, if
you design a new building, you would
expect to see 3D renders, you would
expect to see visualisations.
“The wider design industry are using
those tools, but motorsport has been a
little bit behind, so I think we’ve helped it
catch up in that regard.”
Another crucial aspect of circuit design
is the ever-increasing focus on safety
infrastructure, which is an area that civil
engineering consultancy services company
C&O Innov8 Consulting specialises in.
“What we don’t want to see is people
getting hurt,” explains Olaf Bierfreund,
co-founder and director of C&O Innov8
Consulting. “So it’s about making sure
that the track is a safe environment in
every single way. That includes - from a
layout and design perspective - always
making sure there’s enough space so that
people don’t hit anything at full speed.”
Large fencing is a familiar sight around
the perimeter of a motorsport track and
obviously improves the safety of a given
circuit. However, it can negatively impact
the experience for people watching the
race at the venue. Something Bierfreund
therefore has to consider is striking
the right balance between spectator
experience and ensuring the venue is
safe for the competitors.
“From my side, it’s looking at the
hard infrastructure,” he says. “There’s
a movement to make sure that that is
appropriate as well and strikes the right
balance between ensuring the best
possible safety, but also looking at the costs
- not just for the initial implementation,
but on the ongoing maintenance and the
spectator experience.”
As safety infrastructure continues to
modernise and improve, Bierfreund and
his team make sure to evaluate new
advancements, including relating to
barriers and circuit draining. When racing
is suspended, the circuit is losing money,
so it’s about making sure venues are safe
enough to ensure that any stoppage to
activities is minimal.
“Whether it’s a Formula One event
or whether it’s a club day, if you have to
stop the activity on track, the track loses
revenue,” says Bierfreund. “So it’s looking at
how can we get the best balance there?”
Additionally, service access points
and drains are important elements to
consider. Bierfreund points out that the
positioning of these is key.
“In terms of the other elements that
make up the circuit,” he continues, “the
focus there is on any drainage chambers
and service access points, that they are
positioned as safely as possible. Where they
are absolutely necessary, it is important that
they are designed to be as safe as possible
so that you don’t have incidents where
covers suddenly become loose because
somebody forgot to put in some screws.
“So for the initial design, it’s about them
with the contractors so that they select
the right products that are self-sealing.
Or, if they are existing installations, slowly
working with venues, with the circuit, to
start to replace them where possible,
particularly in critical locations.”
It is clear, then, that technological
and safety advancements are playing
an important part in the development
of motorsport circuits across the globe.
Automotive country clubs, VR simulators
and striking the right balance between
safety and the spectator experience are
just some of the things contributing to the
creation of more dynamic circuits that will
stand the test of time.
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