The FIA has confirmed that they have approved a new test house and debris fence manufacturer for the Asia-Pacific region. The governing body will be helping to improve safety in a part of the world where Motorsport continues to rapidly grow in popularity.
Debris fences are hugely important alongside the constant improvements in car safety. As seen on IndyCar ovals many times, and at Toronto in 2024, drivers who get airborne can hit them. Santino Ferrucci was the driver that day in Canada, and it saved him from a far worse accident with trees waiting if it was not there.
In 2022 at the F1 British GP, Zhou Guanyu rolled over the tyres and hit the fencing following a collision at the start. Without that absorbing the energy, his Alfa Romeo would have almost ended up in a packed grandstand. Fortunately, nobody was injured as the car and fencing did its job.
Alongside looking after the drivers, they are vitally important for marshals, camera men and women for broadcasters, and photographers working at the side of a track on a race weekend, as well as keeping fans safe. Enormous safety progress has been made since the tragic deaths of trackside marshals Paolo Gislimberti (Monza 2000) and Graham Beveridge (Melbourne 2001) at the start of the century.
The new test house will be located in China, at the China Automotive Technology and Research Center.
The statement
“The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the global governing body for motor sport and the federation for mobility organisations worldwide, has announced the approval of a new test house and the homologation of a new debris fence manufacturer in the Asia-Pacific region to support the strengthening of motor sport safety across the region.
“The FIA has approved a new testing facility in the Asia-Pacific region, C.A.T.A.R.C., alongside the homologation of a new debris fence system manufactured by Raxing Technology. Combined, these milestones mark an important expansion of FIA-compliant debris fence availability beyond Europe, giving circuits and promoters across Asia-Pacific greater access to certified safety infrastructure in addition to supporting the growth of manufacturing capacity in the region.
“Debris fences play a critical role in protecting drivers, officials, and spectators at circuits around the world. To ensure consistent, enhanced protection, the FIA has established a dedicated safety standard defining the minimum performance and design requirements for the homologation of these systems.
“To date, four manufacturers have successfully homologated their products under this standard: Geobrugg, Spengler, Nordbeton, and Leadertech. Testing of these products has been carried out by two approved European test houses, DTC and AISICO.”
Nuno Costa, FIA Safety Director, said:
“Circuit safety is just as important as safety within the car and, with every new manufacturer and test house we approve, more circuits worldwide can access equipment that meets our rigorous standards. Bringing a testing facility and a homologated product to the Asia-Pacific region is a significant step for circuit safety in the region, and we look forward to continuing this expansion into other regions in the future.”
