Packing up for Bahrain
Gearing up for the first race.It’s the final day of pack-up here in Enstone as the team gets ready for the first race of the season. The race bays are packed with spares, freight boxes and two R30s in the process of being built for Bahrain.To an outsider observer it may look like chaos, but I can assure you it’s organised chaos. We’re like a colony of ants working for the common aim. Everybody knows their job and what needs to be done to ensure a swift departure on Saturday morning.So (...)
Gearing up for the first race.
It’s the final day of pack-up here in Enstone as the team gets ready for the first race of the season. The race bays are packed with spares, freight boxes and two R30s in the process of being built for Bahrain.
To an outsider observer it may look like chaos, but I can assure you it’s organised chaos. We’re like a colony of ants working for the common aim. Everybody knows their job and what needs to be done to ensure a swift departure on Saturday morning.
So what are we taking to Bahrain? Brace yourself. It’s a staggering 32 tonnes of freight - all transported by air. On top of that eight tonnes of kit has already arrived in Bahrain, which was sent by sea freight. That left in January and includes things like chairs, tables and catering equipment – all those non-essential items that we still need to function as an F1 Team. So that’s 40 tonnes of freight in all.
To transport the car we fit large wooden travel floors with protective side struts to protect the car. The guys also add foam padding around the most fragile parts as well as a couple of nudge bars to the front and rear of the chassis to act as bumpers. The front and rear wings travel in the comfort of their own freight box, while the engine is usually installed in the car for travelling. Then it’s off to the airport.
It’s rare that we ever forget something, but it’s not unheard of. If you’re in Australia that can be a major headache as it’s such a long way, but Bahrain is much closer to home so it won’t be such an issue this year for the first race. It’s a seven hour flight rather than 22 hours, and you don’t lose 11 hours with the time difference!
Here are more photos showing you the final stages of pack-up…
Comment
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Comment by hakan on March 7, 2010 at 12:22pm - sonuna kadar renault f1 team gooo RENAULT GOOO KUBİCA
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Comment by Ashish Saraf on March 7, 2010 at 8:50am - Best of luck RF1...!!
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Comment by lovely on March 6, 2010 at 9:44am
- All Ok? Very Well .
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Comment by RF1 Paddock Pass on March 5, 2010 at 7:31pm - Yes, Tony. Some of the guys will be here until the early hours of Saturday morning getting everything sorted.
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Comment by Tony on March 5, 2010 at 7:25pm - So its all hands to the pumps......thanks for keeping us all updated with what is happening at Enstone.
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Comment by Cyril Nikitenko aka FOFA ChairM on March 5, 2010 at 6:07pm - Thanks for clearing that up. One really has to admire the effort of the people involved.
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Comment by RF1 Paddock Pass on March 5, 2010 at 5:54pm
- It's probably not far off 40 tonnes for testing. But at least it doesn't have to go via air freight. With trucks the weight of the freight is less of an issue.
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Comment by lovely on March 5, 2010 at 5:14pm
- Attention, dont' forget something to home.
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Comment by Cyril Nikitenko aka FOFA ChairM on March 5, 2010 at 4:26pm
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You know, this post reminds me of stuff we were getting here back in 2006 and 2007. My Lord! Is he back?
The numbers are shocking indeed! 40 tonnes. So what's it like during winter testing then - I suspect you carry lot less material around but still it's gotta be at least a few of tonnes?
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Comment by sebastian chrusciel on March 5, 2010 at 4:13pm - I hope so too. Hopefully neu aero parts will do right job on a track. We will see in a week time.
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