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There has been some discussion about the Paddock to infield tunnel being closed in recent weeks. This was probably as a result of the construction work converting the old meeting room suite in the middle of the paddock to the new restaurant. At the same time there has been some work going on in the Park Ferme area and the tunnel is right between the two.
It seems to be open one again and there is a large sign pointing pedestrians towards it BUT for anyone familiar with the location it may not be entirely clear where it is.
The original access path to it now has a sort of side extension the juts out onto where the original path was. If you walk past that you get to a small gap before the start of the tunnel retaining wall and that is not the entrance to the tunnel. It's a bit strange and one wonders whether it is an interim solution pending further developments.
That said it will certainly stop almost any vehicle attempting to use it.
Last weekend the old Coppice tunnel was opened for pedestrians. There was a farm trailer parked in it to discourage cars or bikes but it should be fine for pedestrians.
In addition the new toilet facilities are quite impressive - in one door and out another at the Old Hairpin facility. That makes sense.
The Portacabins at Coppice were open. Standard porta-cabin fare and I'm sure the marshals in the area appreciated them. Not many spectators got that far although it is the official area for disabled viewing having a great view of the circuit from the raised area provided. (Also close ups of many Boeing, Airbus and other plane manufacturer's undercarriages!).
Though there were few people around out there to use the new facilities a cleaning team turned up and spent a lot of time on their tasks which was good to see and bodes well for the attention the facilities are likely to receive during the year.
Now all we need is for the weather to dry up for the next few weeks and allow the ground to dry out somewhat for the grassed areas.
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