A fleet of fourteen JCB Loadall telescopic handlers has been sent to Britain’s Silverstone race track ahead of the 2017 British Formula 1 Grand Prix on Sunday July 16.
The JCB 531-70 models have a lift capacity of three tonnes and will provide four days of support to the event.
The machines will cover the entire weekend including the F2 and GP3 classification races, as well as the F1 practice, qualifying and the main race.
The telehandlers will also be using a special jib attachment that makes it easier to quickly recover crashed cars during races. The custom attachment was developed by JCB engineers.
“We have been working with the motorsport governing body FIA to develop the special Loadall over the last six months,” JCB Loadall development engineer George Cooper says.
“The main benefit of the new jib attachment is it moves the lifting point of the car away from the actual machine, so it makes it easier and safer to recover a vehicle from the track.
“The 14 machines will be strategically located around the circuit on bends and at points where the likelihood of a car spinning off is higher,” Cooper says.
In addition to the Loadalls, JCB has supplied a further six machines to Silverstone including a 8026 mini excavator, VMT260-120 roller, site dumper and a backhoe loader to meet the needs of the circuit.