Russia’s inaugural Formula One Grand Prix race was hosted at the new Sochi Autodrom in 2014. One of the world’s most modern circuits, the technical infrastructure required more than 15km of fibre-optic cabling for which Riedel was heavily involved in creating the specifications for the television production requirements and provided the circuit’s infrastructure for video, audio and intercom systems.
‘The circuit in Sochi is currently one of the most modern in the world, equipped with state-of-the-art broadcast and racing technology,’ says _wige Solutions VP, Thomas Hellemann. For this prestigious project we partnered with Riedel for their specific know-how and more than two decades of experience in motorsports.’
During the Sochi Autodrom project, Riedel worked independently and with general contractor _wige Solutions, a Nürburgring-based company that specialises in media technology (lighting, sound and video), graphics and results services, and race services. The company was responsible for track surveillance and monitoring, time keeping, race control, marshalling and overall technical design. In order to establish a secure communications infrastructure, it opted for Riedel’s Artist digital matrix intercom to provide race control and marshall communications. For the dispatcher system, a Motorola Tetra was directly integrated into the Artist.
As with all other F1 meets, Riedel supplied its communications and signal transmission solutions, including special headsets for radio and intercom systems, the IT infrastructure, and access management. This included more than 500 Artist keypanels and 1,500 Tetra radios used by Formula One Management, Formula One Administration, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, and the Formula One race teams.
‘Following a successful Winter Games, our return to Sochi to work on the F1 course was like a homecoming,’ says, Riedel Director of International Projects, Kai Olaf Houben. ‘It gave us a distinctive home field advantage in completing the Sochi Autodrom project. The smooth interaction and absolute reliability of our communications systems, and a qualified team with experience, are essential in Formula 1, especially with regard to safety. We always have one thing in mind: an absolute zero tolerance for errors in the communications. At the first GP of Russia, we have again demonstrated the quality and reliability of our solutions, and showed that we are the right partner for permanent racing and broadcast infrastructures.’
