How to build a rallycross track in 10 days
Circuit designer Apex was drafted in to work miracles
Emils Grintals
The World Rallycross Championship put in a herculean effort to get its season-finale Hong Kong street circuit completed in barely more than a week.
For their part, WRX drivers delivered a show in the Far East, but they weren’t the only ones going flat-out – the circuit was made start-to-finish in an astounding 10 days, with the final touches added just minutes before the first wheel was turned in anger.
The breakneck transformation is the latest work of Apex, the company behind the Miami Grand Prix circuit.
The WRX round was based at the Central Harbourfront exhibition space on Hong Kong Island, overlooking Victoria Bay, which the track designers say offered a unique build opportunity.
“With an event area like this, it gave the time needed to make an off-road section with the combination of a street section,” says Simon Gardini, a track consultant working with Apex.
Key components were stuck on a ship in the South China Sea, meaning the build went down to the wire, with final FIA approval given just minutes before the first session: “We normally get two months to build a street track,” Gardini adds, “not 10 days!”
Now the ‘prototype’ event has run, they are confident of a more composed construction process next year, while a positive impact on Hong Kong is also emphasised by Apex MD Dafydd Broom: “Having 2000m3 of locally sourced gravel, above, is essential – sustainability stretches to helping the local economic environment over the weekend.”
And it is very much just a weekend – Apex and co have to get all their equipment removed over the 48 hours following the racing before preparations begin for a concert by the Hong Kong Symphony Orchestra begin.