The Korean International Circuit will not break up – Herman Tilke
The designer of the Korean International Circuit Herman Tilke insists that the freshly laid tarmac on the track will not break apart over the course of the weekend during the Korean Grand Prix.
There were a lot of rumours that the engineers feared that in the rush to get the circuit ready for the grand prix and oils from the top layer of the tarmac still seeping to the circuit, there could be a replica of the 1985 Belgian Grand Prix when the teams
had to pack up and go home due to the fact that the track broke up. However, the circuit’s designer said that he is not worried about the strength of the surface of the track and believes it will improve with use.
He stated that the engineers have used a special formula and it does not dry quickly as it is ready immediately.
“It will probably have little grip in the beginning. But they are the best drivers in the world and must cope with it. It will be very slippery in the beginning. But the track will become faster by the seconds until Sunday,” Tilke told
Auto Bild Motorsport.
McLaren’s chief engineer Phil Prew agreed with Tilke by saying that after he inspected the circuit and evaluated the surface, the circuit did not have any problems and it was up to the standards of Formula 1.
"I actually walked the circuit this morning with the other engineers, and I have to say I was very impressed with what I saw. The track itself and the kerbs and run-off all looked pretty good. The tracks surface itself - although it has been recently laid
and it is a bit of an unknown,” he told the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes phone-in.
The track is not looking as bad as it sounds however, after racing at venues like Singapore and Abu Dhabi where the venue provides a full festival rather than just a race, the Korean circuit is just a field that will hold a race and the crowd might not have
the extreme F1 experience they were expecting.
“I don't think looked too bad and it wasn't particularly greasy underfoot. It looked, from what you can tell, smooth, well laid and consistent all the way around the circuit,” said Prew.
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