Willowbank Raceway has provided an update to the track surface repairs that have been carried, and the return to racing.
Statement sent out by Willowbank Raceway General Manger Harry Rowsell said;
“UPDATE – 330 FOOT LEFT HAND LANE
For some months, we have been aware of and were monitoring an anomaly on the racing surface at the 330-foot mark left hand lane.
Back in the mid 2000’s a repair was carried out in this area whereby a section approximately 900mm wide and just over half the width of the left-hand lane was removed and replaced with a concrete product patch.
We engaged specialist pavement engineers to further monitor and advise on the problem area. During this process we were advised that the failure was a direct result of water penetration over a period of time most probably penetrating below the patch repair via an expansion joint. The degradation of the joint being exacerbated by the volume of rain we have received over the past two years.
It is interesting to note here how well the repair has stood the test of time; the left-hand lane producing many record setting passes over that period.
Please note at this point, I apologise for any confusion that may have been caused by a previous update sent out. I am advised that some may have thought that the entire track upgrade is being carried out now which is not the case. Whist this repair does form part of the Grant a full update on roll-out the track upgrade and civil works and the other projects will be sent out prior to the Christmas shut down.
For the repair the entire slab was excavated, engineered footings to Standard were designed and put in place and concrete was poured 26 November.
Monday, engineers advised that the slab had cured to a point that we could start the re-prep again. That commenced at 7am this morning.
There is a private hire on Saturday 10 December that will be the last on-track event prior to the office closing for the Christmas break.
Also in closing, in relation to the calendar, with the disruptions throughout 2022 and trying to plan around the track project upgrades, our 2023 event calendar will be out very shortly, thank you for your understanding with this one. In the meantime, though, below are the confirmed January event dates.
January
• 6 & 7 – New Year Nitro
• 14 – Test n Tune
• 21 – Racer Test Day
• 28 – Test n Tune
In the interim take care, I will forward a full update of the Grant roll out to date prior to the office closure.“
