The client
Albacete Velocity Circuit chose Honeywell video products as they gave the best image quality
The Albacete Velocity Circuit, originally called "La Torrecica", opened to the public in 1990 with motorcycle races taking place in a specifically created race circuit.
The history of the circuit dates back to the period before the Spanish Civil War. During the 1950s, various different motorcycles were introduced as well as sidecars that raced on the city's ring road and later in the park. The next decade marked a golden era with Spanish motorcycles such as Montesa and Bultaco but the races were interrupted due to the lack of security measures. As a result, a race circuit was built in the industrial area of Campollano. In September 1990, "La Torrecica" emerged as a new and more secure race circuit to continue the tradition of motorcycle races held in Albacete.
The situation
The first security system in place at the Albacete Velocity Circuit dates back to 1995. A simple anti-theft alarm system was installed to prevent theft. In 2004, the first CCTV security system was installed and was updated in 2007 to provide better reproduction quality. Currently it has a video system which enables control of the security in the racing tracks during competitions as well as at the circuit perimeter.
Tecalsa, a long-standing company dedicated to the installation of high tech electronic security systems, was selected to update the existing security system using only the best products on the market to ensure that the installation was a complete success.
The Albacete Velocity Circuit has two race tracks. The sports complex contains a restaurant, a control tower, an office area, a press room, a briefing room, ticket offices and grandstands with a capacity to seat 900 spectators. In total, the circuit employs approximately 32 employees with office personnel, maintenance staff, waiters and security guards. The race circuit is open all year round as there are training courses and races nearly every day of the year.
"The Velocity Circuit wanted to update the existing cameras and digital video recorders (DVRs) to obtain a better quality of reproduction, especially from the control area," stated Antonio Padilla Muñoz, General Manager Tecalsa. "The reproduction of recorded video guarantees more security in the race tracks as well as enabling the security manager to reproduce recorded incidents just in case a pilot should be penalised for committing an offence or violation of the rules. In the case of an accident in the race circuit, it is possible to send the security cars immediately and a doctor also if needed. Due to this reason we needed to use ultra rapid cameras and domes."
"We only sell high quality and efficient products designed to allow easy installation and ease of use as well as excellent image quality," added Antonio Padilla Muñoz. "We chose Honeywell video products as they gave the best image quality and definition after having done various trials with other brands. We were very satisfied with the results of Honeywell's Orbiter camera and the new ACUIX dome." 
Honeywell products chosen for their service, the quality, the guarantee and excellent technical support
The solution
To support the installation as well as maintaining a high level of security in the race track, a total of six Honeywell DVRs were installed. The solution included five 4 channel HRHD DVRs and one 9 channel HRXD DVR, as well as 22 Orbiter domes and three ACUIX domes.
The circuit underwent a major construction restoration that lasted two years and, at the final stages, Tecalsa installed the security system which took less than one month.
The control tower which houses the control room has a rack where the DVRs are located as well as numerous monitors where the different camera video footage can be viewed.
"With the ACUIX dome, the operator just has to rotate and zoom in with the camera to see with great precision what type of accident has occurred and decide the appropriate aid required - the correct breakdown van, tow truck or a doctor," commented Ovidio Padilla, Technical Support Manager Tecalsa.
The existing DVRs have been updated to incorporate the four channel HRHD DVR as it is a high performance digital recording solution that delivers the advanced processing of a multiplexer at an affordable price. The DVR HRHD410 features XtraStor, Honeywell's advanced proprietary compression algorithm that provides more storage on smaller media without compromising image quality.
With its superior digital technology, flexible feature set and user-friendly operation the HRHD provides a powerful digital solution for a variety of video surveillance applications. Another advantage of the digital video recorders installed is the Remote Access Software (RAS) that allows the DVR to be controlled and configured from virtually any location. The RAS program is an integrated software tool that controls system management, video monitoring and image playback of multiple remote sites. Finally, this DVR allows quick searches of the video database by event, calendar or time/date.
The ACUIX PTZ dome installed offers highly reliable world-class performance and seamless system integration. One of the most important advantages of using the 35X zoom lense is the fact that it includes Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS) for improved image quality as well as the Wide Dynamic Range feature. The control of the PTZ domes can be done from the front panel or with its remote software.
The benefits
"We needed a solution that fundamentally offered speed, vision and reproduction, and for this I turned to Honeywell and ADI as I have an excellent work relationship with them over the past 20 years," stated Antonio Padilla Muñoz. "Our customers buy Honeywell products because of the confidence they have in us and due to a trustworthy work relationship that I have with Honeywell and ADI. We choose Honeywell products not only for their service, the quality and the guarantee that they offer but also because we receive excellent technical support from Honeywell."
