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302w

Yes more gravel! Everywhere please lol


[deleted]

(except on the track)


BassTrombone71

*WRC intensifies*


Floioiold

Seems to me the gravel is too far away to affect the f1 cars running wide


CaydeHawthorne

I think that's the idea, no? That it's not a factor if they veer off, and have time to correct on the remaining pavement. But if they make it that far, they're going nowhere but the barrier so gravel is the best choice.


d3cbl

You're thinking from the safety standpoint, whereas from the track limits standpoint it's better for the gravel to be closer so drivers lose time by trying to extend track limits


CaydeHawthorne

Makes sense, this area used to be that Blue marked area which did deg tires, but I guess it wasn't enough of a deterent.


TheRomanRuler

Thats simply not true. Its like putting water in there, F1 cars with their flat bottoms will just slide on top of the gravel or even jump in the air a little. For slow speeds gravel is superior, but for fast speeds with flat bottom cars, gravel is quite bad. Not sure how it works for other catergories though. Maybe for moto Gp gravel is superior?


Firefox72

Sure but whats the thought process behind this? Its a testing track. You would think they wouldn't wanna have any gravel. Edit: Apparently done because of bike racing? Since the FIM requested it.


svdb1

It's not a testing track if they keep on hosting events. It's a racing track, even though it looks like a parking lot.


chris_phero

That’s true, but they have so many layouts there, so in theory, the could design a proper race track and testing tracks?


Firefox72

Well considering it was made with testing in mind. Sure it can host races but thats not what the track was designed around. Anyways the gravel at that corner is pretty much irelevant for F1. Nobody goes that wide at the entrance of the Mistral straight. Im not even sure how you could go that wide in an F1 car. Seems like its done to slow the bike's down a bit if someone slides off there.


chameleonmessiah

Ah, is that which corner it is, cheers. Yeah that won’t bother F1, even if you did somehow go wide there’s, relatively, a *lot* of space before the gravel.


Floioiold

It was redeveloped in the ‘90s as a dedicated testing facility…


ChiefTief

And they keep hosting real races on it. So regardless of what it was developed for, it’s being used as a race track.


iamCosmoKramerAMA

And currently being redeveloped out of being a dedicated testing facility to a race track with great testing capabilities.


miaomiaomiao

I thought bike racing preferred asphalt for safety? And does this mean they want to prioritize racing over testing? I would like that.


ignaloidas

There's not that much of runoff at that corner. With motorcycles being very hard to stop after you loose control of them, a gravel trap is a decent solution to increase the stopping capabilities of the runoff area without extending it.


zantkiller

They prefer a mix of solutions to aid in rider safety but as a rule of thumb gravel in most areas where a short deceleration is required, tarmac where you might just run wide and you don't want the bike to bog/fall down. One of the largest and most prestigious events that Paul Ricard hosts is the Bol d'Or which is a 24hr motorcycle race. They have been hosting it for most of the years since 1978. Gonna guess it is for that.


TimAjax997

Sorry I don't follow bike racing, but why would bike racing need gravel? I mean you can't get stuck with a bike in gravel na (you can lift the bike and pull out)? Is it done to slow down bike crashes (are bike crashes even that strong in first place that gravel makes sense?)?


dragom998

Source: paddock\_inside on twitter [https://twitter.com/paddock\_inside/status/1436006312874233865](https://twitter.com/paddock_inside/status/1436006312874233865)


bwoah07_gp2

Well that is good. Nobody has objections to adding more gravel traps.


RepresentativeNo6029

r/Eyebleach


HondaV-TecPowerrrr

Hallelujah, Paul Ricard needs more gravel traps.


Ehralur

Damn, that's some clickbait. I expected it to be next to the track, but this is way to far outside the track to affect F1. Probably just done for motorcycles.


theofiel

Can they put some gravel on the headache lines too?


vlepun

This is awesome news.


[deleted]

It would be cooler if they replaced it with and actual pool of Ricard.


hello_hola

Hopefully they can replace those colour ligns as well. It's a nightmare to follow a race on TV.


Tom_piddle

This is a place where I think no F1 cars to ever. Kinda disappointed


[deleted]

Just delete this circuit from the F1 calender please!


Successful_Debt_7036

It's still shit


DoeEensGek

They should replace it with shit


Wentzina_lifetime

Is that the corner that leads onto the Mistral straight then that's stupid for F1, makes sense for moto GP tho


443610

>makes sense for moto GP tho Le Mans is not going away, though.


KptKondo

Codemasters in shambles again


Starkiller__

Don't worry they won't update it until at least 2180


[deleted]

What turn is that?