The challenging Spa-Francorchamps race track in Belgium was rehabilitated with the aim of enhancing its attractiveness to spectators and, above all, of improving the safety of racing drivers - an ongoing concern for those running the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit.
The rehabilitation of the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps posed particular challenges to all those involved, as the track was not a fresh design from the drawing board, as is usually the case, but has been in existence for over 100 years and includes ordinary roads. The project was planned and coordinated by Spa-Francorchamps Circuit management (as project manager), then implemented and monitored by Italian company Dromo Circuit Design. Dromo’s CEO Jarno Zaffelli emphasized how very demanding this rehabilitation project is - due in particular to the undulating nature of the circuit. There are extreme sections featuring gradients of 20%, such as the legendary combination of the Eau Rouge and Raidillon corners. A further challenge was presented by the hairpin bend La Source (“the spring”), because spring water gets on to the road surface there. To ensure maximum driver safety around the tough Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, the asphalt surface course was subject to the most stringent possible conditions in terms of evenness and grip.
Belgian company Bodarwé, based in nearby Malmedy, was contracted to complete the asphalt paving, and has set great store by Wirtgen Group machines for years. This was reassuring for Dromo’s Jarno Zaffelli, since the variations in level around the winding Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps represent a real challenge to the paving team, as well as to racing drivers. Zaffelli is a big fan of the Wirtgen Group:
“For years, we have been working with contractors who use Wirtgen Group machinery. We know the machines very well, and are familiar with what they deliver in terms of quality and reliability."
Jarno Zaffelli, CEO of Dromo Circuit Design
The project was to pave a new surface course extending 505 meters (553 yards) from the Eau Rouge valley up to the famous sweeping Formula 1 corner at Raidillon. Another 206 meters (225 yards) section was to be paved in the area of the T9Car Formula 1 corner to the north, as well as 701 meters (767 yards) of surfacing for the new T8Moto and T9Moto motorcycle race corners. The following requirements were imposed on the paving team to ensure that the sections were completed to the best possible standard: Paving had to proceed non-stop, at a rate of between 3 meters (9.8 ft.) and 4 meters (13.1 ft.) per minute. The temperature of the asphalt material was set at 180 °C (356 °F) in order to maintain a sufficiently large compaction window even at the low outdoor temperatures prevailing at the time. A further requirement was for the temperature of the paved surface course to be monitored and documented in its entirety.
The composition of the material plays a key role in the quality of a Formula 1 track surface. The formula, code-named "Le Noir", was developed by Dromo especially for Spa-Francorchamps in accordance with the regulations of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It is a well-kept secret. The material was mixed by the plant of Bodarwé subsidiary Boreta S.A, a subsidiary of Bodarwé. The Benninghoven plant was the first to be produced at the new Benninghoven facility in Wittlich. This mixing plant is characterized by the highest quality and production standards, as well as by a wide range of options.
The highest quality and production standards for asphalt mixing: The Benninghoven TBA 4000 plant was the first to be produced at the new Benninghoven facility in Wittlich.
Once the surface course in the relevant sections had been removed by a , complete with LEVEL PRO ACTIVE milling depth regulator and 3D controller, three machines were deployed. The task was to pave three 4.1 m (13.5 ft.) – 4.3 m (14.1 ft.) strips without joints using the tried-and-tested hot-to-hot method.
Perfect grade and slope control: All three Vögele pavers are equipped with a Big MultiPlex Ski, ensuring maximum evenness.
The three pavers were each equipped with a AB 500 TV extending screed and a Big MultiPlex Ski to ensure maximum longitudinal evenness. Three multi-cell sonic sensors were fitted to the variable carriers of the Big MultiPlex Ski, each scanning the binder course and adjacent surface course to ensure precision paving.
Read more about Big MultiPlex Ski
The three Vögele pavers were equipped with incorporating the RoadScan temperature measurement system to monitor and record the paving temperature. The system not only recorded the asphalt temperature, but also the other paving parameters: geometry, area, distance, and volume of asphalt paved. Site manager Sébastien Dandrifosse was well pleased: “WITOS Paving Docu is ideal for monitoring temperature directly on-site, where we can use the information to counteract any deviation at once.”
The WITOS Paving Docu always gives the paving team complete control of logistics and paving temperature.
Machines and people worked together at the highest levels on the legendary race track in the Belgian Ardennes. The demands of the project were intense, but operators used the machinery and technology to overcome every challenge they faced. The race track design team were also impressed by the support provided by the Wirtgen Group, as Jarno Zaffelli summarizes:
"The backup from their technical team was very good, and extremely important. It is very reassuring to have experts like that by your side when running a paving operation that can’t easily be repeated. It was a learning process, and the racing drivers and spectators got to experience the perfect outcome at the Formula One Grand Prix on August 28, 2022."
Jarno Zaffelli, CEO of Dromo Circuit Design
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