The ACM faces an XXL logistical challenge before the Monaco Grand Prix
VSis completely new and we hope it will be the last time. » Last count under the eyes, Christian Tornatore, general commissioner of the Automobile Club of Monaco, lists the flow of semi-trailers currently en route to the Principality. 412 precisely. A good part of which comes from Barcelona.
Because, for the first time since 2011, the FIA has chosen to schedule the Grands Prix of Spain and Monaco over two consecutive weekends. As soon as the checkered flag fell in Catalonia, the teams had to dismantle and load the construction elements of their motorhomes, such as the computer systems dedicated to the pits, into the trucks. To which are added the trucks of fuel, spare parts and materials of all kinds.
Three dormitory buses to work 24 hours a day
“Usually the assembly started the previous weekend, when it’s calmer. Everything that took place in five days will be compressed into three days since the circuit will be closed at 8am on Thursday”summarizes Christian Tornatore, who recognizes the growing contribution of automation and mechanization in the assembly process, but wants to be intransigent when it comes to respecting the “human factor”.
In this regard, the FIA ensures that it has the means to match its ambitions. “They are committed to working 24 hours a day, which they are not developing before. Three dormitory buses have even been planned to set up replacement teams and rotations.”
“It will get better, warns Christian Tornatore. Tuesday and Wednesday are when there will be the most people.” Two strategic days to leave the car in the garage whether you live or work in the Principality.
And it will take elbow grease and gray matter to be effective. Take the example of the quai Antoine-1 paddockuh. 175 trucks will take turns there over three days to unload the bases of ever larger motor homes (read below). Each elevation requiring a crane, prevents two neighboring motorhomes from being raised simultaneously. All with a single open, one-way traffic lane along the arcades.
Suffice to say that to avoid saturated road traffic on the outskirts of the Principality, particularly in the Condamine district (drop-off point for this whole caravan), the regulation of flows promises to be essential.
“We did our best”
Accustomed to managing two “buffer” zones, the Nice Saint-Isidore Logistics Business Park (PAL) and the La Brasca site in èze, the ACM teams have chosen to maintain only the second point of control. But to create another, from the last week, in Spain! “A team went to Barcelona to mark all the trucks that have to return to Monaco so that we know where they are going, and that they know where they have to return after emptying their cargo. (read above). From ze on will escort them on scooters as needed.”
A device set up in coordination with the services of the State, the Public Security, the Integrated Center for Mobility Management (CIGM) or the gendarmerie on the French side. “We did our best, we can’t go beyond”assures Christian Tornatore, “certain that on Thursday at 8 a.m. everything will be ready in the pits to drive”.
“Whether or not it is ready on Quai Antoine-1 for motor homes is not our problem but that of the stables”, complete the general commissioner of the ACM. Each stable will indeed be called upon until the last minute for delivery services to decorate the spaces and pamper the guests.
“Everyone has their own image and wants to show their power, their ability to welcome, their difference.” In Monaco more than elsewhere, the alignment of jet motorhomes. Open to the port, this luxury paddock offers an environment conducive to business while retaining a popular charm that vanishes elsewhere. It was therefore not necessary to wait for the health crisis for the pilots to evolve in a bubble. Going from the paddocks to the pits and the track in a few meters, often out of sight. In Monaco, privacy is guaranteed but the crowds are close at hand. And the pilots willingly succumb to it between two runs.
Barge Red Bull: a turnkey exception
When it comes to motorhomes, architects are always thinking bigger, more classy. Hence the impressive logistics of the days to come. The Red Bull barge landed turnkey on Friday morning, handled from Italy. One of the most practical exceptions, but which could not be duplicated, is the old Quai du Commerce, which does not have enough mooring space. At the quay, we also had to push the walls to satisfy the stables this year. “After the Historic Grand Prix, we had to move our structure set up in the middle of the paddocks to free up space. We put it at the entrance to the pits to recover offices and instead we set up two bungalows superimposed “, explains Christian Tornatore. We know how to receive at the ACM.
Already working on the installation of the sporting part of the Grand Prix infrastructure since the holding of the E-Prix and the Historic Grand Prix, the ACM is busy fitting out the stands for F1. “It takes a week to prepare the 12 stands. The carpentry is in progress, as is the laying of the floor”, specifies Christian Tornatore. A liner-type coating, with a rendering “clinical”, so that the staffs and mechanics are not on the asphalt. (PhotoTM)