Circuit of the Americas Formula 1 Race Track - Page 121

turn1 · #**2401** Posted **Dec 29, 2019, 5:59 PM**

More bump grinding, a few days ago.

Epstein said the track would be closed "most of December and half of January" for construction. There was a Skip Barber school the 16th & 17th, & the first equipment didn't start arriving until about the 19th.

Jdawgboy · #**2402** Posted **Dec 29, 2019, 7:38 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by turn1

More bump grinding, a few days ago.

Epstein said the track would be closed "most of December and half of January" for construction. There was a Skip Barber school the 16th & 17th, & the first equipment didn't start arriving until about the 19th.

He is destroying the track. He is doing nothing at all to actually fix and repair it.

turn1 · #**2403** Posted **Dec 29, 2019, 10:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

He is destroying the track. He is doing nothing at all to actually fix and repair it.

LOL ... it almost seems like that.

Austin1971 · #**2404** Posted **Dec 29, 2019, 11:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by turn1

lol ... It almost seems like that.

i

turn1 · #**2405** Posted **Dec 30, 2019, 2:26 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Austin1971

I don't know anything about street construction but it looks like they are removing and replacing the asphalt. Could be wrong...

I think all that's happening in that photo is more bump grinding, as they've done in the past. Don't know if more has been done since that was shot though.

Jdawgboy · #**2406** Posted **Dec 30, 2019, 3:25 AM**

This is my question. At what point do the bumps get grinded down to where they have gone right through the asphalt? Hence why I feel this "easy fix" way to go about it is not only bad, but is indeed putting those who race on the track at risk of injury or worse. Epstein is supposedly very wealthy, so what he should be doing is solve the issue and repair the track. Grinding bumps down is not repairing the track, he's just wasting time for what barely passes as a work around to an issue that isn't being addressed.

Oh but I forget..... he's been putting all his money into screwing the City of Austin.

turn1 · #**2407** Posted **Dec 30, 2019, 4:20 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

This is my question. At what point do the bumps get grinded down to where they have gone right through the asphalt? Hence why I feel this "easy fix" way to go about it is not only bad, but is indeed putting those who race on the track at risk of injury or worse. Epstein is supposedly very wealthy, so what he should be doing is solve the issue and repair the track. Grinding bumps down is not repairing the track, he's just wasting time for what barely passes as a work around to an issue that isn't being addressed.

Oh but I forget..... he's been putting all his money into screwing the City of Austin.

Can't give you any kind of definitive number or the like, but yes, the grinding does weaken the asphalt and actually makes the problem worse in the long run. Some posters on other boards who are in the industry have echoed your sentiments exactly. Years ago they predicted cracks would appear where COTA has ground the track, and that is exactly what has happened. Before the 2018 USGP, the track started show networks of cracks in the bump grinding areas, and they've gotten progressively worse and more widespread since. I do know of at least one instance of the track actually breaking up, right on the apex of Turn 20 a year or two ago during the MotoGP weekend. A corner marshal sent me these photos. He said it was an area where grinding had been done.

And I agree that with the huge amount of money COTA is getting and has already gotten from the State, the patchwork approach they've taken to the track issues is not cool to say the least...

& here's a tweet from Alberto Fabrega before this year's USGP:

Albert Fabrega
@albertfabrega
Vuelta terminada. Asfalto muy roto. Zonas rebajadas y reasfaltado entre T9 y T11. Sensores límite pista en T19 y T13.

Track walk done. Tarmac very cracked. Resurfaced area between T9 and T11 and some ground areas. Track limit sensors on T13 and T19.

https://twitter.com/AlbertFabrega/st...ce%3Fpage%3D25

Turn 5, from his tweet (but there are lots more cracks this bad, or worse, all over the circuit). Sorry so large:

Turn 11:

turn1 · #**2408** Posted **Dec 30, 2019, 6:30 PM**

A friend posted this pic this a.m. Looks like more bump grinding between 9 and 10. Can't see any signs of other work being done.

turn1 · #**2409** Posted **Jan 2, 2020, 9:31 PM**

Happy New Year everyone!

Re: the "extensive" track and drainage repairs COTA had planned for "most of December and half of January, they didn't get going until about December 19. As of New Year's Eve, lots of track grinding had been done, but that's apparently all. Turn 1, between Turns 9 and 10, the back straight, and Turn 19 have been ground. Those are the same specific areas Epstein mentioned and likely comprise 40% of the circuit that Epstein has referred to that will be resurfaced. It seems, at least right now, that the "extensive" repairs will consist of grinding these areas and resurfacing them.

No heavy equipment around & no sign of any below-grade work going on or having been done. No sign of drainage work or any "pipes coming out". Nothing at all happening that day & only 2 weeks left in the window Epstein described.

turn1 · #**2410** Posted **Jan 9, 2020, 4:57 AM**

Went out to COTA again. Still zero sign of drainage work. No more grinding since New Year's Eve, either, from what I could see. They've sealed T1 and were paving T18-19. Nothing more has been done to T9-12, including the back straight.

No work's been done to the front straight other than the approach to 1.

Jdawgboy · #**2411** Posted **Jan 9, 2020, 6:06 AM**

The track looks terrible. It's shocking to see it in such condition. I'm no expert at building roads or maintaining them but I know a little about laying brick as I've made some garden pathways over the years. I know that if part of the brick pathway is either sinking or rising up, it means that I need to fix below the bricks by removing the affected bricks, ascertain the situation underneath, fix it and then put new sand, or in certain cases crushed granite as that is the foundation that the bricks lay on, then replace the bricks and make sure they are leveled with the rest of the pathway.

I've seen enough road work to know that a similar method is done to fix roads. Not sure what steps they need to take for what is supposed to be a top grade circuit but I know it's not being done.

zrx299 · #**2412** Posted **Jan 9, 2020, 5:29 PM**

He's trying to get public money to pay for it. Just like sports teams owners fleece cities for stadium repairs.

Sooner or later it will be "If COTA doesn't adequately address track issues, then F1 will no longer race there." And viola! The public money will flow in. You can see this coming a mile away.

turn1 · #**2413** Posted **Jan 9, 2020, 6:15 PM**

Best we can tell, only grinding and re-paving is taking place, and only in certain areas. The only areas that have been worked on are the braking zone of T1 down to maybe T2. Unsure where that work stops. Then the short stretch between T9 and 10 where that really hard bump is, the back straight, and T18 & 19.

Looks like they've now done the sealant from the exit of 11 down to 12.

turn1 · #**2414** Posted **Jan 9, 2020, 11:25 PM**

I've been told now by a civil engineer that the coat I referred to as sealant is a "tack coat", a binder that is applied prior to the new asphalt to ensure that the new surface adheres to the underlying pavement. I was wondering if that coat was some kind of coat like what a painter would call a 'primer coat'. I guess it is...

turn1 · #**2415** Posted **Jan 16, 2020, 7:20 PM**

You can see here what COTA actually resurfaced...

hookem · #**2416** Posted **Jan 17, 2020, 9:51 PM**

I've been kind of surprised by Twitter's reaction to the COTA partial resurfacing. Some are upset about it, but not why you would think. They are sad to lose the bumps because they gave the track "character":

https://twitter.com/COTA/status/1217...874240000?s=20

turn1 · #**2417** Posted **Jan 18, 2020, 6:08 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by hookem

I've been kind of surprised by Twitter's reaction to the COTA partial resurfacing. Some are upset about it, but not why you would think. They are sad to lose the bumps because they gave the track "character":

https://twitter.com/COTA/status/1217...874240000?s=20

Yeah that's a popular take by some folks who only watch races. It's funny though, that seems to be most prevalent in the reactions to COTA's tweet about it ... for some reason. On Reddit and other places, it's a different story. And 99% who mention that they've driven or raced there say they're happy about something being done. Even some of the F1, MotoGP & sportscar guys say they enjoy rough tracks & that typically bumps add character, then go on to say the bumps at COTA are/were just way too much.

turn1 · #**2418** Posted **Jan 18, 2020, 7:10 PM**

Another aerial ...

StoOgE · #**2419** Posted **Jan 18, 2020, 7:47 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by turn1

Yeah that's a popular take by some folks who only watch races. It's funny though, that seems to be most prevalent in the reactions to COTA's tweet about it ... for some reason. On Reddit and other places, it's a different story. And 99% who mention that they've driven or raced there say they're happy about something being done. Even some of the F1, MotoGP. & sportscar guys, who say they enjoy rough tracks & that typically bumps add character, then go on to say the bumps at COTA are/were just way too much.

Danny Riccardo is the only F1 driver who liked the bumps.

turn1 · #**2420** Posted **Jan 18, 2020, 8:06 PM**

Yep.