Work has been completed on the all-asphalt parallel track at the Stade de France. Everything is now ready for the top world motor sport champions who will compete in Saturday's Race of Champions.
1,750 tonnes of underlay, 1,260 tonnes of asphalt, a 100-tonne concrete cross-over… built in just 4 days to transform the turf of the Stade de France into a motor racing circuit.
A second straight has been added to form a full oval to permit the Renault F1 car parade laps.
Construction of the 7-metre wide asphalt track began on Saturday November 26th, shortly after the final whistle of the France v South Africa rugby international. The finishing touches to the 1km circuit will be completed on Thursday morning.
Following the laying out of the track's outline by surveyors shortly before midnight Saturday, Sunday was spent laying down special metal protective sheeting over the turf. The 1,750 tonnes of underlay were transported to the Stade de France in 11 semi-trailers and laid using a fleet of 3 scrapers, 2 diggers and 2 rollers.
At the same time, another team was busy positioning the 420 metres of outer protective concrete walling and assembling the 100-tonne concrete cross-over that has been erected in the middle of the arena thanks to an impressive 50-tonne crane.
Tuesday saw 720 tonnes of asphalt poured into placed to form the first layer of the track itself, while today (Wednesday) saw 540 additional tonnes of asphalt added to form the smooth top-surface that will favour long, spectacular power slides.
The 1982 World Rally vice-Champion Michèle Mouton, who co-organises the event, said: "This year again, the team from Charade – the company contracted to build the track – has pulled off a huge technical feat. The track is ready and we have added a small modification compared with 2004: a back straight which has enabled us to create a full oval around the stadium to permit the Renault F1 car demonstration runs after the racing. That promises to be an extraordinary sight!"
Finally, Thursday will be given over to positioning the decorative elements of the track, laying out the grandstands and putting in the first test laps with the Porsche 911 GT3 Road Challenges, Renault Mégane Trophys, ROC Cars and Citroën Xsara WRCs.
The 2004 lap record (1m 40.8116s) was posted by last year's 'Champion of Champions', Heikki Kovalainen from Finland, driving a ROC Car.
Tickets are still available, with prices starting from 25€ and reduced rates for under-16s. Car park space costs 13€ (advanced sales only). For further information or for a list of ticket sales outlets, spectators can call 0892 700 900 (from within France only) or +33 (1) 41 57 30 65, or else go to stadefrance.com on the internet.
For reference, the confirmed national teams for the 2005 Race of Champions – Nations Cup to date are:
FRANCE: Jean Alesi (DTM) + Sébastien Loeb (WRC). UNITED STATES: Jeff Gordon (NASCAR) + Travis Pastrana (X-GAMES), AUTOSPORT TEAM GREAT BRITAIN: David Coulthard (F1) + Colin McRae (WRC), FINLAND: Marcus Grönholm (WRC) + Heikki Kovalainen (GP2). BRAZIL: Felipe Massa (F1) + Nelson Piquet Jr. (GP2/A1GP). SCANDINAVIA: Tom Kristensen (DK/Endurance) + Mattias Ekström (S/DTM). BENELUX: Christijan Albers (NL/F1) + François Duval (B/WRC). TEAM PLAYSTATION FRANCE: Sébastien Bourdais (Champ Car) + Stéphane Peterhansel (Rally-raid). GERMANY: Bernd Schneider (DTM) + Armin Schwarz (WRC).
Wild card entry (competing in the individual Race of Champions only): Dan Wheldon (GB/IRL)
