Gallery: MotoGP Road Course Construction Begins at IMS

Construction on the new, 2.601-mile road course to be used for the inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP motorcycle race has started at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. IMS President and COO Joie Chitwood and Kevin Forbes, Director of Engineering and Construction addressed the media on August 1, 2007, two days into the project.

To date, catch fencing has been removed from the inside of the oval’s first turn, the viewing mound in that area is in the process of being leveled, and crews have begun to dismantle the First Turn Terrace grandstand. Forbes expects the bulk of the project to be complete before cold weather arrives.

“I think we’ll see the majority of the completion occur by the end of October,” Forbes said. “Really, the weather has to be conducive to racetrack paving, and that typically means warm temperatures. So we really need to get the majority of this done by October. I think we would probably be ready to test a motorcycle here, at speed, probably sometime in July 2008.”

One thing that comes through loud and clear when talking to Forbes is his passion for the maintenance of the facility and a commitment to outstanding customer service to its guests.

“This really isn’t a massive project, but it’s a very, very delicate project,” Forbes said. “We have to maintain this facility. This facility is operational basically 364 days a year, and we like to keep a nice home. We like to keep it neat and tidy for all the guests that we have year-round.”

Note photo #11 in the gallery, a vertical shot of Kevin Forbes standing on what used to be the First Turn Viewing Mound. At his feet is a small section of reinforced concrete sticking up out of the dirt. Forbes said it could be part of the original infrastructure of the track (not to be confused with the actual track surface) since very little has been done to the facility in the first turn area over the years. He also mentioned that it’s a possibility that crews will find some of the bricks that made up the track’s surface until they were paved over, especially when Dry Run Creek gets rerouted. I can vouch for the fact that scraping away the surface in that area is a bit like an archaeological dig… plenty of beer can pull-tabs were visible, and those have been gone for what, a few decades?

The construction site is closed to the general public, but visitors can view the project’s progress by taking an IMS Track Tour or by visiting indianapolismotorspeedway.com. IndianaRacing.net will also have more information as it becomes available.

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