Le Mans continues safety revamp

The runoff at the entry to the Porsche Curves will be extended as part of the latest wave of circuit safety upgrades ahead of the 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours.

The increased runoff at the quick right-hander that leads from the section of public road into the fast sequence will be in place by June this year after its introduction was delayed from 2014. The runoff will be increased by approximately 100ft and is part of a rolling upgrade of the Porsche Curves that will take three to four years to complete.

The grass verges that line the circuit from Mulsanne Corner to the Porsche Curves will be asphalted.

Vincent Beaumesnil, sporting manager at race organiser the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, told AUTOSPORT: "We will still have white lines and curbs, but there will be asphalt rather than grass on the other side. This will make it much safer if one car has to go off the circuit to avoid another."

Beaumesnil suggested that Audi driver Mike Rockenfeller's massive shunt at the kink before Indianapolis corner in 2011 could have been avoided if he had been able to run wide on an asphalt surface rather than grass.

The latest round of upgrades to the 8.47-mile Circuit de la Sarthe follow changes made ahead of last year's race to the siting of the barriers on the exit of Tertre Rouge, an increase in the run-off at Corvette Corner (formerly known as Karting) in the Porsche Curves and new curbing at the Ford Chicane.

Changes to the layout of the local roads that would make the section from Indianapolis to Arnage permanent racetrack will not begin until next winter. The D140 highway will be diverted to the left where the road kinks right at Indianapolis and will join the D139 at a new roundabout just south of the Arnage corner.

Originally on Autosport.com