British Gp Matterly Basin

“We have screened around 1500 tonnes of topsoil to make the track deeper and have added additional sandy material. The watering system is in place and we have a new 1200 litre reservoir to feed it. The bulk of the work off-track has been carried out by Blanchard Wells Civil Engineering. Mark Blanchard is the father of Luke, one of fastest rider from the south coast who competes in the Maxxis and Mark’s support has been unbelievable.

“One of the defining feature of Matterley is its downhill corners. There are 11 of them with 5 turning square onto the aspect of slope and just 3 uphill corners. Riders have a lot less confidence in their front end when the ground is falling away from them and it requires a lot more finesse. Off cambers are not for everyone; ask James Stewart about this one ”

“A lot of work was needed to start developing it into a facility more befitting a World Championship. The major part of the work was creating a paddock, but other jobs were also required such as creating a permanent pad for the VIP area, the TV, timing trucks and YS offices. Blanchard’s commitment to supporting the GP has been invaluable, and there is now a new 24,000 square meter paddock.”

“The biggest headache for us turned out to be the pitlane which had a bigger fall on it than we thought until we measured it. With the new pitlane structure being two stores high, a fall of more than 30cm over its length would make it structurally compromised. With the site level out we discovered a 4 meter fall from one end to the other. Not only did the 10m wide pitlane have to be raised up 4 meters at one end but the 10m wide straight that touches it had to be raised as well. Further material had to be used to blend it in to surrounding landscape. It was a big undertaking.”