New corner and track cleaning equipment for Bahrain International Circuit
7/2/2005: The Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix on April 1, 2 & 3 will be the first chance that Formula One drivers have to sample the Bahrain International Circuit’s latest corner. Turn 4 has been completely renewed after last year’s race. The revisions have turned the tight corner into a much more open and attractive proposition for racers a fact endorsed during the F3 SuperPrix race in December.
Both the GT and Formula Three racers had the chance to experience the new corner and it produced the type of enthusiastic comments that BIC were hoping for. GT race winner David Brabham said that the new corner would be ?“interesting to the Formula One boys as the openness of the track presented another overtaking opportunity. In its previous format the corner was too tight and drivers would have been loosing more speed than necessary.”
Track cleaning has also been improved and speeded up. BIC has recently taken delivery of a super new circuit-cleaning machine. Looking like a giant street cleaner it was originally designed to clean airport runways and has been modified to suit the needs of a Grand Prix racing circuit. The new machine is in almost constant use keeping the track clean for all events that are taking place on the circuit.
BIC has also replaced all its stabilised sand around the circuit. The work, which as the subject of an earlier story, has now been completed with all the new tarmac areas painted in a sand colour to blend in with the desert landscape. BIC is also now in the process of adding additional astro turf to certain areas to discourage F1 drivers from taking an advantage from the extra tarmac run off areas
