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Knockhill is a tiny 1.3 mile circuit, full of twists, turns, climbs and descents and is very narrow and bumpy. Phil Bailey and Steve Tandy had never even been to Knockhill before, so a good amount off running in the Friday test session was welcome, and saw their times gradually come down. The track itself, because it is so bumpy and narrow, presents a major challenge to both driver and car. Saturday dawned cold and bright, and after a successful qualifying session, hopes were high for the first race. Steve Tandy was to start from sixth on the grid, but after a quick spin on the warm up lap, he had a lot off work to do in the first stint. A safety car period bunched the pack up, and after releasing the cars again, close racing raged throughout the field. At the hand-over point, a smooth driver change ensured that the Geosynthetics car moved up to 5th place in the GT4 class. Phil Bailey drove a steady run through to the end ensured some solid points on the board for the Geosynthetics Team. For the second race on Sunday, Phil Bailey was to start. A good start was compromised by yet another safety car period, but at the restart Phil Bailey really got down to business lapping just one second off the new lap record for GT4’s. With a lap time off around 55 seconds, the drivers of the GT4 class were constantly having to watch their mirrors for the faster GT3 cars on such a small circuit! At the change over the Geosynthetics car was in forth place just behind the Beechdean Aston Martin. Steve Tandy did a great job and kept the pressure on the Aston, until with a little over two minutes of the race left, the Aston made an error and went off the circuit bringing the race to a premature stop with a red flag. The result was a superb and well earned 3rd place and with it a podium. The result also took the Geosynthetics car to an 4th overall in the GT4 championship! So at the end off the weekend the Geosynthetics car had achieved some excellent results in both races and can now look forward to the fast expanses of Rockingham near Northampton with the anticipation of more good results to come! The next race in the series will be taking place at Rockingham on the 25th and 26th of May. More information on the series is available at britishgt.com . Tickets are available courtesy of Geosynthetics if you are interested in attending any of events. For more information please contact our sales office on 01455 617 139 or email sales@geosyn.co.uk .

Consulting Engineer Review - April 2008 (download news pdf) A reduction in sub-base requirement of up to 50% is claimed by the manufacturers of an innovative pavement reinforcement system. The system, called CellWeb, is a 3-D cellular confinement matting made up of high-density polyethylene strips that create lightweight expandable panels. When expanded, the panels form open cells which are then filled with aggregate to construct a reinforced sub-base. The cells act as a binding medium, preventing lateral movement of the aggregate and mean that less imported material and reduced mechanical compaction are needed to achieve the same load bearing capability. Independent trials to determine the beneficial effects of using CellWeb have been undertaken by the Environmental Protection Group [EPG], at the pavement monitoring facility of SEL Environmental in Bury, Lancashire. Results have show that CellWeb not only provided improved the load bearing capability of a given thickness of sub-base but also minimised the stresses transferred to the underlying sub-grade. A thinner sub-base also means less excavation is needed with consequent reduction in damage to tree roots in the immediate area of construction. The report found that, in many cases, a no-dig solution to pavement construction would be possible by incorporating CellWeb reinforcement. CellWeb sub-base reinforcement is suitable for vehicular pavement construction using both impermeable and permeable wearing courses of asphalt, concrete block or granular material. The report found that permeable pavements of asphalt, block or cellular paving [DuoBlock or similar] were particularly suited to this type construction as the reduced sub-base compaction and open texture improved overall pavement permeability. Improvements in oxygenation of the sub-base layer were also identified. This was felt to have important benefits to the welfare of tree roots making the system ideal for pavement construction in environmentally sensitive areas. Originally developed by the US Army Corps of Engineers in the late 1970’s, CellWeb is distributed in the UK by Geosynthetics Ltd. Copies of the EPG Report, “Pavement Construction Using CellWeb Pavement Reinforcement 2007” are available on request from: Geosynthetics Ltd. T. 01455 617139

Oulton Park: 22nd - 24th March 2008 Witnessing a horrific crash and fireball probably wasn't what Phil Bailey had in mind for his maiden appearance in the British GT Championship at Oulton Park. The Hinckley racer was around 50 yards behind Hunter Abbott's Ginetta G50 - the same car he races - when it made contact with another car, rolled across the barriers and burst into flames. Abbott crawled from the wreckage and escaped with just minor injuries after swift help from the marshals.      The incident didn’t distract Team RPM driver Bailey as he finished a credible sixth and fifth in class in the two races, alongside co-driver Steve Tandy. The GT4 class win in race one was taken by Joe Osborne and Michael Broadhurst in another Team RPM Ginetta G50 in 12th overall, Bailey and Tandy finished sixth in class in the Geosynthetics sponsored machine and 18th overall. In the second race the GT4 win went to Matt Nicoll-Jones and Steward Linn in the IMS Motorsport Ginetta G50. Bailey and Tandy improved to fifth in class 16th overall despite the effects of a slow puncture. Bailey was happy with his first weekend in GT’s. He said: “It was pretty good really. It was a massive step up as I expected and the competition is as tough as I have ever known. “But in the Saturday race my best lap was only one second slower than the guy who won so I’m pretty pleased with that. We are really close to the ultimate pace. “On Sunday the car was hit with a slow puncture which destroyed the handling. Without that we were probably on for fourth in class.” Speaking about the accident, Bailey said “I’ve never seen anything like it. It was complete carnage. I thought he would hit the wall and bounce back on the track in front of me but the car just folded up. He’s a lucky guy.” Bailey will now have a two-week break before the series travels north of the border to Knockhill on April 12. More information on the series is available at britishgt.com . Tickets are available courtesy of Geosynthetics if you are interested in attending any of events. For more information please contact our sales office on 01455 617 139 or email sales@geosyn.co.uk .