Brian P

John, I'll hopefully be at all the NNJR events that you will be at. I would appreciate it if we could take a ride in each other's car.

M758

John.... You just HAD to rub it in...

RedlineMan

Scary Turns?

- Turn 2 at Mosport. Although it is not nearly as intimidating as it used to be for me, I well remember the first few times I went sailing over "The Edge of the Earth" into that abyss. Blind-downhill-offcamber-double-apex-terror! When I can do that flat, I'll have arrived!!!

- Turn 1 at Mosport. A turn that might surprise many. It will be one of a few that I list of this caliber. If it is not intimidating, you are going too slow!

- Turn 4 at Mosport. If you are really flying, the car feels like it is going to go airborne. Again, as above, if you are not nervous, you are SLOW!

- Turn 10 / South Bend at VIR. Again, if you don't get queazy, you are going too slow!!!

- Turn 17 & 17a / Hog Pen at VIR. You just KNOW the rear end wants to jump out on you. It's just GOTTA...

- The Esses at WGI. Not a problem for me anymore, but it takes YEARS to do it flat. Echo Valley with nothing but cement grandstands and 4-high Armco at the track's edge to soothe your nerves.

- Turn 10 at WGI. The Fast Left. There are more wrecks here than anywhere else on the track. Once AGAIN, if you are not scared, you're TOO SLOW!

- Turn 13 (?) at Mid Ohio. Is that the right number? The left after Thunder Valley? I've seen more people get out of shape there than any other place on the track. The only one that I scared myself on. Bumpy entrance and apex, decreasing radius at track out. Again... if you are not nervous...

- Diving Turn at Lime Rock. Ok... I'm ALMOST flat going down there, but not quite. breath it a bit and a little left foot brush of the brake. Helps to have no HP!!! It wouldn't be that bad except for the FRIGGIN HUGE BUMPS!!! I swear I'm "on the bike" through there!!

Z-man

I know that feeling! Braking through the first part of hog pen (right to left) is counter-intuitive, but it does settle the rear. (But I keep thinking: braking and turning? High speed? ACK! ) There are some (who I believe are NUTS!) who don't brake in the first half, but brake in the second part of Hog Pen. Yikes!

Based on this thread, I have added a few more tracks to my 'wishlist.' Note to self: start working on being independantly wealthy so I can start my track-tour USA ASAP!
-Z.

JC in NY

How quickly have we forgetten T5 at the Bridge. RIP.

Adam Richman

I think its a great track. VIR Full is just flat out fun. It pretty much has every type of turn you'd want to play with and its very easy on tires and brakes. You can't say that for too many tracks that I know of.

And as for jinxes, which hill? Up or down? They both scare the **** out of me

Although I have considerably less seat time at Road Atlanta, I think its even more challenging than VIR. Its also more intimidating (that's not to say that VIR won't wad up a car too). What I dig so much at Road Atlanta is that you are on full throttle before turn-in on every turn (less perhaps T7). That is a big challenge to me and something I will continue to work on. I have been told (and I believe it) that there are three tracks in the US that the best drivers come from, Sears Point, Mid-Ohio, Road Atlanta. That if you can master one of these tracks, you are going to be fast anywhere. Its amazing to me to watch the guys from Mid-Ohio come down to Road Atlanta, having never been there and just make me look like a chump in T3. Luckily I don't think Mid-O has anything like T1


I have tried three distinct lines through there; brake straight out of RC and turn-in barely (as much as I can) on-throttle getting back on full by the compression. Brake down to the left side apex and try straightening it out. Big lift out of RC exit straight, turn-in and brake through the left apex and get back on throttle. I am not sure there is a fastest way through there (I don't think its the third). My co-driver and I take different lines typically; I tend to brake up top and turn in 4th gear (rear gets very light), he tends to straighten it out and drop to 3rd gear. I have looked at a lot of tape and there doesn't seem to be a difference in RPM when we cross the plane of the pit wall (when it goes past the p. side A pillar in camera). There is no doubt however that taking his line is the better way to protect the corner in a race. I have a video clip of a guy in an SE-R trying to take that third line, on tape it looks like he hits an afterburner when he turns in (peeing dog and all) but by the exit, he's not carrying nearly as much speed and we are back to the same spacing.


*** Mike, supposedly, Tarheel Sports Car Club (hpde/time trial) has a date to run the Patriot Course later in the year. It was marked tentative so who knows but seeing as how that track isn't (supposed to be according to what I read) to be used for club racing, it would be very few opportunities to check it out.

OriginalSterm

Sounds like a blast! I'll see what I can swing, thanks!

Mike in Chi

Adam

I was refering to the downhill 11/12. Wheee.

I only drove Road Atlanta once with a 2-day PDE course. We were carrying some pretty good speeds, I was in the A group with that Hurley fella. But it will be interesting to be on my own. I loved that course. Lots of elevation like Road America and Laguna

there's another interesting hill turn at Grattan in Michigan. Blind uphill right that you have to commit to in order to be fast thru the final left that leads to the long front straight.

Tom W

Well, I'm not much of a West Coast contingent because I've only driven 2 tracks - Thunderhill and Laguna Seca (Buttonwillow in 9 days).

The corkscrew is a lot of fun but I have more issues with turn 9 at Laguna.

I like turn 9 at Thunderhill as the apex is just before the top of the hill. It's a much faster blind turn than the corkscrew or turn 5 (at Thunderhill).

BluemaxxRacing

First post on Rennlist but I couldn't pass this one up. My favorite turns are....

5. Turn 5 @ Thunderhill

4. Corkscrew @ Laguna Seca (Mazda Raceway)

3. Raidillon Eau Rouge @ Spa Francorchamps

2. Nascar Turns 3-4 @ Daytona

1. Turn 17 @ Sebring (my home track)

Rich
www.BluemaxxRacing.com[URL=http://www.BluemaxxRacing.com]

Volney

Same here: track experience is Thunderhill and Laguna. (Well, PIR too, but it was my first track event and I wasn't going fast enough to have much fun... :-)

The corkscrew at Laguna is freaky at first, and yes you do pretty much aim at the tree which you can't see until you commit to the apex... When you get to where you can carry good speed it's definately fun. Turn 9 used to be the scariest to me and now it's my absolute favorite at Laguna... Just don't be early! Hit it right and you can track out and attack turn 10.

Ken

Welcome Rich! I like your website. I'm planning on making one up similiar in the near future. Now I just need to think of a team name.....

Matt Marks

I'm going to throw in a slighly different set of turns at WG....haven't heard anyone talk about the bus stop, 6, and 7. (the chicane, right hander down the hill, and the late late late blind left hander with 0 run-off.

That gets more of my attention than the esses do.

Other than that - climbing esses at VIR - are you doing this flat out? ;-)

smokey

Watch out for Turn 5c at Mosport when it's wet. It's just a little kink to the left after the hairpin, and in the dry you don't even know it's there. I've had two cars hit the wall - hard- in front of me there in the wet, and in 1982 I put my old Ferrari into the ditch (now replaced by a wall) on the inside. Turns 1 and 2 at Mosport are the ones everyone respects at all times, but 5c is a monster when it's wet. Fortunately, it's not very fast. Just expensive.

DJF1

Yeah! The screw is great but it does not seem as intimidating as turn 9 though! Downhill, off camber, fast with the FIA curbing droping off as well... a pretty scary turn

My favorite turn is a very simple 45 degree mid-late apex corner at TWS. Its turn 3 coming out hard from turn 2 brake a ton downshift and dive. The car always drifts to mm from the edge of the track, it is so satisfying to feel the drift and exit just perfectly! A couple of inches to the left and you are 2 wheels off... Getting it right always puts a smile on my face

Talking about scary turns... Turn 7 at TWS is an uphill left hander which is taken at 100mph+ . Its a leap of faith really, at turn in your brain says NONO its TOO fast, you pray,hold your breath and dive on the part that has positive camber at the apex and then the camber falls off at the exit on the top of the hill so it throws you off with a lot of speed towards the green pastures on the right of the hill! I have seen many screw ups there mostly guys getting intimidated, lifting and getting it all wrong, dashing on the inside taking wheels off, turning cars upside down etc...

Also on the same track for me THE most intimidating turn is turn 1... For others is not but for me its still is.. The main straight at TWS is part of the old superspeedway so its a banked oval 20+ degrees. Turn one its the transition to the infield track part and at turn in you could be there doing 130+ with moster turbos doing a buck 50 or 60... So you have to dive left and although it is extremely wide the transition is very bumpy. So the correct way of doing this as I'm told is to momentarily lift , dive and floor it again till your braking point for 2. Easier said than done So yes I tried it once I said what the hell, looked at speedo I'm doing 135mph, lift and as soon as I start going downhill I'm flat on the go pedal. Next thing I know my butt snaps to the right and I'm thinking... oh s*** . I really do not know what and how I saved it, but for sure I have not tried that experiment since