To Kerb or Not to Kerb: Considerations for Race Track Owners
If you are thinking about building a race track or if you are a track owner considering modifications to your existing course, you may have noticed the recent controversy surrounding the kerbs at the track for the Austrian Grand Prix. As a track owner, you may be wondering whether or not you want kerbs at your track. Here are a few signs that you need them.
1. The track is in an area where it frequently rains.
On roads as well as race tracks, one of the main function of kerbs is to help move water off the driving surface. As it rains, if the track or road has the right pitch for drainage, the water will run from the centre of the track to the kerbs along the outside. Then, the kerbs will essentially corral the water toward the storm drains.
Not only does that prevent the water from pooling on the track, but it also prevents the water from eroding the edges of the track and causing your surface to wear down more quickly. In rainy areas, investing in kerbing helps your race track last longer and stay in good condition.
2. You want to stop drivers from cutting the apex.
In some cases, in their hurry to get around the track, some drivers may cut the apex. In doing so, they run over your grass, potentially wrecking it or even risking the life and limb of crew members standing near that part of the track. If you have too many cases of drivers cutting the apex, you may want to deter them with strategically placed kerbs.
3. You have ample space to create a wide track.
Ideally, your kerbs should not be flush with the edge of your track's driving area. Instead, the track should be outlined in white or yellow lines which signify the edges of the track. In a competition, these lines demarcate whether or not a car has left the track, and for people who have just hired a car to drive around your track, the lines give them the guidance they need to keep their cars in line. Then, the kerbs should be spaced further out from the white lines.
If you don't have ample width to include all of that, you may want to skip kerbs and just have an asphalt track that fades into the grass at the sides. It may wear down faster, but if you don't have a buffer between the edge of the defined track and the kerb, racers may hit the kerbs too frequently, potentially damaging their vehicles or causing other issues.
Want more guidance on kerbing or not kerbing your track? Contact a kerbing contractor like the Kerb Doctor.
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