Uncompromising quality for the 500km/h track

Maximum precision is called for when paving a dragstrip in Norway.

Advertisement

The race itself only takes a few seconds, but in these brief moments, everything has to be absolutely perfect. This is true of both the dragster itself as well as the track. When the drivers rev up their engines for the acceleration duels — so-called drag races — they not only rely on automotive technology. The track must also be completely even and have an excellent grip. When rehabilitating the Gardermoen Raceway near Oslo, the only permanent dragstrip in Norway, the paving team of Stange Asfalt AS therefore placed very high demands on the asphalt paving — and used state-of-the-art equipment supplied by VÖGELE and HAMM.

Millimetre precision

During a dragster race, the drivers hit extremely high speeds. For this reason the track itself must meet stringent evenness requirements. The tolerance range on the Gardermoen Raceway was only ± 2mm across a width of 4.5m, and a crown with a slope of exactly +1° was specified. The track must be absolutely precise, as the slightest unevenness can cause instability in the dragster’s road performance. On the dragstrip, the drivers accelerate up to top speeds of more than 500km/h within seconds. After a quarter of a mile (402.34m) the race is already over — and the braking parachute is deployed.

Making all the right moves — With ErgoPlus

To achieve the required level of precision, the Norwegian road construction company Stange Asfalt AS left nothing to chance on the dragstrip near Oslo airport: the SUPER 1900-3i worked with two VÖGELE multi-cell sonic sensors for grade and slope control. To guarantee continuous paving without interruption, a VÖGELE PowerFeeder type MT 3000-2i Offset was used for material feed. HAMM DV 70 VO and DV 90 VO rollers — each equipped with vibratory and oscillating drums — compacted all three layers of the new asphalt pavement. Both the innovative and reliable machines and the well-versed paving team proved invaluable during the project. Their familiarity with the VÖGELE technology was a great boon in all situations.