[Official] Round 9: British Grand Prix 2014

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by wnut

Not a thing, they run over them at the Chinese GP constantly.

Check they are properly bolted down though!

That sounds like the solution.

[coln72]

Dont know about the grate being safe. Just ask the Aussie V8 driver that had his car nearly cut in half hitting one in China.....

[wnut]

Originally Posted by coln72

Dont know about the grate being safe. Just ask the Aussie V8 driver that had his car nearly cut in half hitting one in China.....

Hence the bolting down bit! 5 - 10 yrs ago?

Been used for years since then - no problem!

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

That sounds like the solution.

Are you sure you don't want a hill?

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Biscuits In A Red Bull

Are you sure you don't want a hill?

Apparently it's water running off the hill that's causing the drainage problem.

[Greem]

That specific piece of track crosses one of the old runways (in actual fact, the Wellington straight follows the exact line of one of the three original runways built by the RAF). The crossing runway still exists, with the pit exit end of the National Pits/Paddock at the higher end. It used to run more or less from Copse to Stowe - slightly downhill.

That slope is the key - when it rains heavily, water runs down the line of the old runway to the crossing point near the Wellington Straight bridge. I know this reliably because I've done one memorable meeting standing in about 6 inches of water just next to the track there! The track itself has a crown, so water collects - and has to be drained somewhere, hence the drainage in the grass.

If the tarmac run-off was extended to the bridge (as some have suggested elsewhere) that would remove the soakaway properties of the grass, which would need *more* drainage - as well as encouraging drivers to keep their foot in for even longer, thus making the re-entry even more likely to result in contact with the barrier or worse, bridge.

I'm fairly sure that the circuit management will be looking at that area now, anyway, given what happened. It'll be interesting to see what they do.

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

Ah, I get it. We can (once again - and perhaps reliably ) blame t' good ol' British weather for this accident

[garcon]

Only someone from Northamptonshire would call that a hill...

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

Originally Posted by garcon

Only someone from Northamptonshire would call that a hill...

Or Norfolk. It's so damn flat out there that the tallest thing in Norfolk all year is Matt Neal when the BTCC crew visit Snetterton...

[wnut]

Originally Posted by garcon

Only someone from Northamptonshire would call that a hill...

[JamesH]

Originally Posted by Biscuits In A Red Bull

Or Norfolk. It's so damn flat out there that the tallest thing in Norfolk all year is Matt Neal when the BTCC crew visit Snetterton...

I dunno, the bomb hole at Snett is sort of a hill.

[garcon]

Isn't that the opposite of a hill?

[wnut]

Originally Posted by garcon

Isn't that the opposite of a hill?

2 Hills, one on each side!