Silverstone is clearly wanting to avoid a repeat of last year’s fiasco – when its track was resurfaced by Aggregate Industries, and races were subsequently cancelled. Readers will be all too aware of the fun and games that ensued – covered in way too much detail on this blog.
Next month, the track will be resurfaced again – this time by Tarmac, who will be "working closely with Dromo, an Italian circuit consultant company" – at a reported cost of up to £5m. Silverstone will hope these parties really are racing circuit experts.
Looking forward to today's @F1 #BritishGP at @SilverstoneUK? Earlier this year, our racing circuit experts helped to resurface the track at the historic home of British motorsport π¬π§ π pic.twitter.com/EzHVJN4Sgk— Aggregate Industries (@AggregateUK) July 8, 2018
It’s unlikely they’ll make a worse job, judging by Lewis Hamilton’s comments about last year’s resurfacing:
The people they hired did the worst job ever. It’s the bumpiest track I’ve ever experienced
Have the lawyers left the scene yet? Seemingly not, according to Silverstone's MD Stuart Pringle:
We are considering the options available to us as regards last year’s resurfacing
Why Tarmac? In another interview:
In the end, Aggregate decided they didn’t want to do it and they stepped back, so we’ve gone with Tarmac.
The journalist that AI tried to gag, Mat Oxley, writing in Motor Sport Magazine, quotes hopeful Mr Pringle as saying:
Dromo has very exacting standards and Tarmac are well up for this – they are very aware that the eyes of the world are on them. Dromo’s Jarno Zaffelli has a very precise methodology and his approach to the design of the asphalt mix is very scientific. Tarmac want to get it right and even they are learning from Dromo.
Mat Oxley on Twitter adds:
To me, the big deal is that Dromo are involved. They know what they are doing
with the obvious inference that somebody else didn't.
Would like to hear @AggregateUK’s view to the need of completely resurfacing their tarmac.— Mike Frison (@renntv) May 8, 2019
The good news about the Silverstone resurfacing is that it is being done by people who know what they are doing this time.— David Emmett (@motomatters) May 8, 2019
Ha. I couldn't possibly comment. AI has a 24-hour sniper patrol outside my house. One more bad word and I get a bullet in the head. (Joke, yer honour)— Mat Oxley (@matoxley) May 8, 2019
I remember last year very well.— Sully.27 (@Sully27gp) May 8, 2019
So does Tito n Franky n Alex :( #LakeSilverstone pic.twitter.com/UpFtQDH3Y4