cooleyjb

The people I spoke with never made any mention of the track being changed.

However I think this might actually make the turn more difficult. If it takes away any of the 'access road' run off area that will have an affect on how people approach the turn.

The drivers who turned consistently fast laps often had 2 or even 4 tires over the line that marked the course. If the underpass takes some of that away that will remove some ability people will have to make up for prior mistakes.

I doubt the track configuration will change too much though (at least I hope it doesn't). The entrance is still in the bottom of the valley and I doubt they can move it that much. The two big things will involve what the apex will be like (will the rumble strips be easy enough to cut the corner) and what the exit area will look like. Unless they change the topography drastically the exit will still be blind as you are coming to the inside of 13A and that will still take some faith in knowing where your car should be pointed.

JW in Texas

Good point. That access road was mandatory if you were movin'! I can remember Glen's instructions my first time there: Aim for the bridge embankment, let the car drift up over the hill & end up out on the perpendicular access road. That & the kink are my two favorite places on the track. I am really going to miss it Hope they don't decide to ruin the kink too since it is so "dangerous"

Dave in Chicago

I had a big "off" there during this year's PCA races. Went something like this:

Uh oh...

going "baja" now...

lots of boucing around...

Yikes, look at that wall...

Yikes, look at that tire barrier...

Hey, here comes turn 14!

Ride it out long enough and T14 kinda comes back to you. Only lost one position and it wasn't even in my class.

I will miss the bridge. As noted above, the run from T8 through T13 is fun stuff. I think my favorite stretch of racing roadway would be just that and expanded to include T5, T6 and continue through T14 and up the hill.

Okay, I just love the whole track!

That said, I did see a 911 that was all but cut in half under the bridge a few years ago. Big chunck of concrete, that bridge.

But tucking waaayyyy down on the inside, throttle buried, while the suspension compresses and decompresses... Hope they don't change the essential fun of that turn.

cooleyjb

I would make a good bet that an access road will still be there if for nothing else Skip Barber. I'm just curious what the constriction of the bridge going over the infield access will do. I think it will be a place that high HP cars driven by low track time drivers will get into trouble.

DrJupeman

38D

2-3-4-5 at Mosport is the #1 for me, but that is a pretty good set of turns too. But I am glad I got to run under the bridge for at least one race.

hacker-pschorr

Good point - the more I think about it, the road will stay. For such a long track that is where you can jump off at 5, sneak across to reach the pits. Not to mention the safety crews need this road to access that half of the track since many safety vehicles sit outside of 5 - use this road to reach 12-14.

I'm sure the shape of the track is not changing - why would it? Just the wall is going away - well, moved back a few feet. This will be no different than turn 2 - that tunnel is only a few years old (ok maybe 5) the track itself did not change.

Funny when you think back, adding the Snap-On bridge added two walls people have slammed into, what where they thinking?

The kink? cannot be changed - on the ouside of the wall is protected land, so says the DNR. So unless they somehow convince the DNR to move a stream, the kink is maxed out. They already added the kink bypass, most clubs choose not to use it. So if any of you want a "safer" kink, tell your organizers to pick the other configuration.

Mike in Chi

Yes, that is the Haybale turn for the Barber Race Series short course (the back half of of the full course Turn 5 is a right hand Turn 1 for the short course, and yes the wall is very close at track out. Unfortunately the Billy Mitchell turn is not nearly as fast in that configuration)

I once had the pleasure of seeing three Skippy cars stacked on top of each other there, pleasure, because I wasn't in any of them.

So Jay, you can count on having lots of room there.

JW in Texas

Thanks Big T! I'm sure I don't use as much of it as Chris does but I still can't imagine the corner exit without it, that's for sure

cooleyjb

Updated picture of where the bridge was and Turn 13-13A. I still cant get a good feel on what track out is going to look like though

cooleyjb

It seems like the tunnel is going in past the cutoff for the Ski Barber course. So it would be a straight shot up the hill into the paddock from the tunnel.

Ray S

Hmm, I never thought of that bridge as being in a particularly dangerous area. It never had even close to the "pucker" factor as the kink for me.

It will be interesting to see if the track "drives" any differently this year with it gone.

Early911

Lots of pictures on the Road America website. I can't post the link because I'm new to the board.


-Mark

hacker-pschorr

Photo gallery:

http://photos.roadamerica.com/gallery/2317236/1

I'll be on the track in early April with Speed Seekers. I'll try and post a video of the track ASAP for everyone to see.
We were the first group to drive on the new pavement last year & parts of the track were covered in ice (not kidding - that was interesting).

It's strange seeing RA cut up like that - so it looks like the barn will survive?

skl

Having raced there in both SRF and spec Miata I still say thanks every time I make it through the kink in one piece. We had a bad wreck there a couple years ago in a big spec Miata race with 75 of us. One of my local cohorts early apexed (very uncharacteristic for him as he was towards the front) and he went off the outside and hit the wall hard and bounced to the inside- of course around the bend so totally blind to 65 some Miatas coming at full tilt- he was deadstick backwards on the edge of the track and was hit nearly headon by another car- luckily no one hurt badly...
Even though Jerry Titus was killed by the Billy Mitchell bridge back in the 70's at a Trans Am race (I was there watching) and Memo Gidley almost was a couple years in a champ car that bridge never made me that nervous- probably should have.
Will definitely look different but the track itself isn't changed. Hell I still miss the pagoda and hate the concrete canyon that's been there since about '95 or so... oh well, progress...