Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Daytona International Speedway has purchased 500 linear feet of Airfence Bike soft barrier for use during motorcycle events.

Airfence Safety System’s Andy Coffey and a contingent of WMRRA club road racers have been at Daytona for the past week assembling foam blocks into 80, two-meter sections of non-inflatable Airfence Bike safety barriers.

Even though the purchase was just finalized in recent weeks, Coffey had hoped to have the safety devices available for the Dunlop tire test. The back log of shipping at the Los Angeles Port, however, delayed delivery of the foam blocks’ covers. The covers were flown from Los Angeles to Atlanta Tuesday night, where Coffey and his crew picked them up and trucked them to Daytona via rented U-Haul truck. Coffey and seven workers are feverishly putting the covers on the devices in hopes of putting them in place overnight for use during the Thursday extension of the tire test.

Retail price for Airfence Bike is $650 per section, bringing the total for Daytona’s purchase to approximately $52,000.

Combined with the 35 sections of inflatable air barriers owned by AMA Pro Racing, over 1500 linear feet of soft safety barriers could be in place for the March 2003 AMA races at Daytona International Speedway.