The good type of barriers

Young Drivers F1 Test Abu Dhabi 06-08/11/12

Tecpro is an extremely innovative company specialising in the production of racing barriers. Simply put, the reasons of Tecpro dominance are pretty evident to anyone who has witnessed the spectacle of motorsport: these barriers have 40% more energy absorption without the so-called boomerang effect, which leads to far less damage for the drivers, the cars, the barriers and less risk for accidents happening after the cars are thrown back onto the track. The creatively constructed tension system inside the barriers allows them never to be dissociated and to dissipate all the absorbed energy between them during an impact. It’s pure and simple magic. So how did this company become so… useful? The man behind all this, CEO and Owner of Tecpro, Rafaël Galiana, takes us for a ride in the kingdom of safer Formula 1 circuits.

What’s the secret?

During the period of 2000-2006, Tecpro executed a series of meticulous crash tests with the FIA Institute and Dekra. The last test has been executed at 218 km/h, which is a speed that has never been tested before. Data from this experiment showed that our barriers are much more effective than the old tyre systems, whatever the speed is. Today, we can certainly state that Tecpro barriers are 40% safer than any other type of systems out there.

I would say the main advantages, regardless of safety, are these: our system is the best fit for printed advertising – it’s easy to put or remove; there is no paint to redo every year or every two years; the maintenance is simple – in 8 years the Paul Ricard track has intervened only four times to change the barriers for crashes, and all this took one hour; 1000 meters of installing Tecpro barriers requires 15 days of work for 4 people, while 18000 tires plus the conveyor belt needs 53 days of work for a team of at least 8.

There are a lot of opinions being expressed how Formula 1 could be learning from other sports, but it is the pinnacle!

What’s going to happen next?

We have lot of work with new circuits now. The system constantly improves and we are focused on improving it even more this year, with so much interest from growing motorsport markets. I think companies in the automotive industry should be ahead of the demand in terms of technology, and that’s what we’re working on all the time.

Our module is to be as environmentally friendly as it is physically possible. From less harm in the making and disposing to less transportation in the whole process, we are keen to keep on providing “greener” products. It’s a hugely important factor nowadays and, thankfully, it’s literally taking over the world.

It has become much easier for us to work with Formula 1 – it seems that everyone knows the effectiveness of our barriers, they have experienced the professionalism of our technicians and people somehow hear about our new developments. We work closely with the FIA ​​to meet their demands and, most importantly, to meet the demands of Formula 1 drivers – that helped us a lot while constructing various improvements.

There are a lot of opinions being expressed how Formula 1 could be learning from other sports, but it is the pinnacle! I think that most industries could easily start learning from Formula 1 – it’s a great example of success. This business develops and changes in various ways, so we might just ask Bernie himself about the sport’s future, but I’m sure it will keep its powerful image for a long time.

 

Comparison
1,000 linear metres of protection:

 

Tyre system

18,000 tyres (in simple 6-packs)

1,000 metres of conveyor belt

36,000 steel bolts

Transportation: 40 trucks

 

TECPRO system

750 reinforced blocks (R1)

370 absorbent blocks (R2)

Transporation: 15 trucks




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