Thunderhill is Expanding

[Sieg]

I'm somewhat surprised they'd run cars on the new asphalt at those temps. Bikes maybe, but 3000 lbs cars?

[PTAddict]

Originally Posted by Sieg

I'm somewhat surprised they'd run cars on the new asphalt at those temps. Bikes maybe, but 3000 lbs cars?

Well, you have to understand all of the dynamics in play. HOD sold the event at a slightly higher price for the opportunity to be one of the first at the new track. T'hill track management couldn't know that the temps would be even hotter than normal for early June. And the breakup started in the morning, long before the peak temps, and only in very specific parts of the track.

IMO, it's just the kind of thing that happens with new stuff in motorsports, be it a new car or a new track. T'hill has an SCCA event on the 5 mile track there in a couple of weeks, so in a sense we were guinea pigs finding whatever problems were going to occur in sanctioned racing. I'm actually perfectly OK with that. We got a first-time chance to drive what is certainly one of the premier tracks in this continent, and got some significant track time. That's glass more than half full, in my book.

[Sieg]

I'm not trashing them, just a bit surprised assuming the curing time of a high-performance surface is somewhat critical. Hopefully it doesn't turn into a long term problem down the road.

[Track Junky]

On newly placed asphalt once the final lift is placed and compacted we usually wait until the temp of the surface has dropped to 140 before opening up traffic control to through traffic..

With the asphalt temps at 160 the asphalt binders soften up and there could be a potential for rutting but then again I'm sure the folks up in Willows know how hot it gets up their so I'm sure they chose the correct mix design for that region.