After 15 years of working closely with motorsport venues, proving grounds and high-profile street circuits around the world for F1, MotoGP, World Super Bikes, V8 Supercars, Formula E and more, we can tell you there’s a lot more to creating the look and feel of an iconic race track than you might think.
Here’s a look at what happens behind the scenes of track preparation and painting for motorsport…
Circuit design requires teamwork from the onset. When Roadgrip Motorsport approaches a new project with a venue or race organiser, our creative design team consider everything from the branding and location of the track to the bends, gradients and straights of the circuit to ensure the drivers, spectators and cameras are treated to stunning visuals. We think about how to emphasise steepness and curves with visual tricks for added excitement, too.
If you want a circuit to become iconic and instantly recognised (like the design we created for COTA), you need an innovative approach to design that evolves until it becomes exactly what the clients want – with a combination of their ideas and ours.
From run-off branding to sponsorship surface branding, we take that client brief and turn it into incredible 3D visualisation and CAD renders that don’t just sell a concept – they become a piece of art.
Can you tell we love what we do?
And then there’s the track preparation.
We specialise in the complete presentation services including track painting and run-off design, cleaning and grip improvement, temporary overlay, debris fencing, barrier installation and specialist race electronics.
Before we apply the markings to the track, the circuit needs to be cleaned and maintained for optimum track safety.
We use the most advanced fleet of UHP high pressure water machines in the industry. The Trackjet system uses a sophisticated jet that removes all rubber and circuit deposits without harming the surface underneath. This helps to improve the friction and safety of the track for the race drivers.
Our team also partners leading academic institutions who conduct ongoing research into tyre/surface interaction and racetrack surface characteristics. Using Grip Map technology and non-standard testing techniques, we can demonstrate the impact of that track cleaning too. You can read more about that on our sister company’s website at R3.
When it comes to line painting, Roadgrip Motorsport have forged a 15-year reputation in the expert application of line painting and refreshing edge lines, grid markings and pit lanes for major events in the global racing calendar.
We apply anti-skid FIA/FIM homologated paint for safety to the sporting lines, edge-lines, kerbs, grid and pitlane. We’re also known for our grand scale art and how to use the asphalt for sponsorship, integrating the branding into run-off designs with anamorphic graphics and other high-impact visual effects. Take a look at some of these projects for inspiration: motorsport circuit design
For temporary races, we are well-versed and experienced in track construction and temporary overlay offering the full project management and consultancy with logistics planning and management.
It’s no small task organising and planning a street circuit but with our international network of construction partners and extensive experience from years in the industry, we know how to bring it all together no matter where in the world that race is taking place.
From surfacing, kerbs, Armco barriers, walls and debris fencing to temporary grandstands, temporary pit buildings and race electronics, we’ve got it covered.
For the permanent tracks and new builds, we’re perfectly placed to bring in the heavy-weight skills of our other divisions within Roadgrip HQ. From paving solutions for new circuits and refurbishments of old track surfaces, Roadgrip has the in-house equipment and team to handle all surfacing, repairs and preservation treatments including Rhinophalt.
And that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface (pun intended) to what we do for global motorsport.
If you want the peace of mind that your circuit is in the very best hands, bring on the professionalism, know-how and global experience of the Roadgrip Motorsport team. Contact us for a brochure.
Interested in motorsport circuit design? You’ll love these:
