F1 Fanatic

The decision on wether the Korean GP will go ahead will be made today, according to Joe Saward:

“The Formula 1 is waiting today to hear whether or not the Korean Grand Prix is going to happen. The problem is with the track surface. The final layer of tarmac has yet to be laid. The race in now less than four weeks away, and the surface will need about three weeks to cure. “

http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2010/09/27/the-korean-grand-prix-2/

I and some other commentators pointed out during the test that Chandhok ran that the track wasn’t even close to completion, especially as the surface was only a foundation and no top-surface of asphalt had been laid at any point of the track, and none of the run-off areas had been completed.

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2010/09/06/onboard-video-lap-of-koreas-f1-track/comment-page-1/#comment-424318

There are 24 days until the race – 18 days until the teams arrive and 20 days until the first cars go out on track. If it is true that not all the asphalt has been laid already, then there is no chance that this track will be ready to host a grand prix. Keep in mind that it will need to pass an FIA inspection prior to the first cars going out – I am not sure what that involves but I could imagine that a component of the certification would be a strength test of the asphalt, which would fail if tested so soon after being laid.

Not looking good, at all.

Well..it doesn’t look good on paper does it? I hope they pull it out of the bag.

Otherwise they could all just have a massive Xbox Live session ;)

If it’s true that the top surface hasn’t been laid, it sure doesn’t seem possible for the race to happen at this point. It’s gotten so late now, that it seems unlikely the race could be moved to somewhere like Qatar as an alternative. Maybe just run two races in a row at Suzuka?

If it doesn’t happen at all McLaren and Vettel won’t be too happy as it will hurt their championship chances. Alonso and Webber probably won’t lose sleep over it though.

I hope they can work some magic somehow and make it happen. The track and scenery actually looked kind of interesting.

I am not one to post much, but I should end some of this debate here. Asphalt does not take 3 weeks to cure. It is driveable once it cools down to a surface temparature below 50 degrees celsius though most places wait until it cools to 40 before letting traffic on. That takes about a few hours or so depending on air temperature. That is full live loading of all vehicles (Cars, trucks, transports, etc..). It is not an ideal way to pave but it is done daily and with very few problems. Ideally you would want to wait a week to identify any deficiencies,so you can correct them, especially on a circuit.
The speed of the vehicles is not a problem for the asphalt/tarmac but the design of the corners for speed. Since this is not the first circuit to be paved I would think they have what is called a Job Mix Formula (JMF) ready and designed for most race circuits that would just need to be tweaked to account for different types of granular material available in different geographic regions. The only thing that would effect this asphalt would be the materials available to Korea. But I saw asphalt roads there so I assume they have paved a street or two before this gig.
NWO

Surely the Korean government is aware what a PR disaster an unfinished track would be, and how badly it would reflect upon their country. If they are, they ought to be putting a lot of money into the project to try and dig themselves out of this hole

To Aida!

@goofy what the hell was happend! lol

Webber must have the biggest smile on his face right now.