Polytrack creators distance themselves from Wolverhampton
track problems
Wolverhampton Racecourse in the United Kingdom has reportedly been
experiencing a variety of problems with its Polytrack surface and on Friday, Malcolm
Wallace, group chairman of Martin Collins Group, which installed the surface, told
Racing Post that it no longer wants to be associated with the surface, which has received a myriad
of alterations.
“Wolverhampton isn’t Polytrack any more,” Wallace told
Racing Post. “When we installed it back in 2004, it was a Polytrack, and if that had gone
wrong we would have put our hands up. But since then a significant amount of additional
material, which is not Polytrack at all, has been provided by alternative suppliers and the
composition of the surface has changed significantly since it was installed.”
Wallace told the trade daily that when Martin Collins
installs a Polytrack, they provide the racecourse with a package that explains a maintenance
regime, and the company trains track executives on how to look after the surface, as well as
flying out a technical representative to check the surface quarterly.
“We tell them if there is any problem, call us and we
will jump on an aeroplane and go and sort it because obviously it is not in our interest to have
the track underperforming,” Wallace told Racing Post.
“It is significant the only one of those
that isn’t performing as it should do at the moment is at Del Mar in California, where exactly the
same thing happened. They said, ‘We don’t need your help, we can do it ourselves’ and the
track has gone wrong.
“I rather liken it to having a Rolls-Royce. You don’t take a Rolls-Royce to
your local chappie, you take it to the Rolls-Royce dealer to make sure it is kept in good
working order. It is the same with a track, it is not rocket science, but you do need to have
some experience.”
Wallace noted that Martin Collins will bid for the
contract to resurface Wolverhampton, and that they maintain a good relationship with Arena Racing
Corporation, which owns Wolverhampton as well as Lingfield, where Polytrack has
been operating successfully for 11 years.
“We have very good relations with Arc, we are talking to
the team all the time,” Wallace said. “The track had changed significantly and we were
copping a lot of flak over it, and they accepted the fact it was no longer the surface that was
installed because of the additional material they had added.
“They have our track at Lingfield. After performing really well for 11 years, properly maintained, what did they do? They
resurfaced with Polytrack.”
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