MarkM

David, are your comments on the changes based on the pic? 5 looks very similar to me. I'm sure it is hard to exactly duplicate the elevation nuances, but the angle doens't look different.

How would they have more runnoff at 12? They would have to move the wall back for that.

That ped bridge isn't new, its the Porsche bridge that's benn there for a while.

Not sure what I'm going to do in 7 now, my turn in marks were based on the cement patches. I guess we will see in a couple of weeks...

RSRRacer

Thanks for clarifying your expectation of my performance!

Lemming

T12 - I heard that they originally had planned on pushing the wall back at 12 but in the end it was just too expensive and therefore was not done.

T5 - I don't think they changed it, nor had they planned on changing it. All that they did, in addition to paving, was to push the walls back in the esses and through 5 and up the hill. Again, this is what I heard, no first hand knowledge yet.

38D

I wonder if the new pavement will be faster (and by how much)

jester911

The first driving event (that I know of for sure) is the weekend of Mar 10 with a BMW club DE. The next 2 weekends will have NASA and SCCA so it won't be long until we get back reports.

DavidNR

Mark,

Taking a closer look it really doesn't look much different to me either.
I was just passing on a couple things I was told. I don't know how more runoff at 12 can be added either, you can't move that wall back any more than they already have. The exit to 5 is supposed to be safer to keep cars off the wall. It looks like they have been working on the gravel pits but its hard to tell what they have done with the pic. That pedway looks so different in the pic, my bad.

If it's anything like Mid Ohio when it was repaved it will be one continuous featureless smooth black ribbon. All your markers move to the side of the track but boy was it fun. Guys who run there were saying it was almost 2 seconds faster.

Let us know what changes you find in a couple weeks. I will be there in June.

Bryan Watts

If it's anything like my experiences at VIR and Roebling, it will be faster immediately and will peak in 2-3 seasons at which point it will remain steady and/or start a slow decline in speed. The good news is that it will be really easy on tires.

This is only my theory, but I think that binder of the new pavement wears a bit in 2-3 seasons exposing the tips of the sharp aggregate, creating the grippiest surface possible. Once that aggregate smooths out, the track levels out and gets slower over time. Eventually, more of the binder wears away and the aggregate sticks up so far that it just shreds your tires and doesn't produce much grip (see Roebling before the repave or Carolina Motorsports Park right now or any track where concrete patches have been placed at the apex).

Wreck Me Otter

This is true at LS too...1-2 seconds faster depending on car class and almost no tire wear...yippeee! I normally run up to 15 heat cycles before the RA1's are toast on my SM....my fastest laps at LS were on 21 heat cycled RA1's and they were clearly faster than stickers....

cviles

I'll be going out this weekend with Panoz ("Track Days"), so BMW isn't first. I don't know if any other groups have been out already. What I do know is, this will be the first time in a long long time that all run groups will actually take the van tour.

I thought so too, judging by the bright color. But I just looked at an old video of mine from last summer and the traps match the color in this picture spot-on. I'm not saying they didn't make changes, but I'm not so sure anymore.

Wreck Me Otter

The biggest issue at LS was not the bumpy track surface after the repaving, but the extremely deep gravel traps they added...the best thing about them is they stop cars quickly...the worst thing about them is that they stop cars....if you don't keep the wheels spinning, you'll sink to the sills and cause a full course yellow to get you out....Also, hit one of those traps sideways and you can roll your car....add to that, the stupid concrete blocks they added to the inside of the apex burms that will break your wheels or send you off the track if you hit one....