ltc

+1 for Laguna Seca.
Did my Skippy school there, makes WGI seem boring.

C.J. Ichiban

LS is gonna be a lot of fun. I've got a few different ways to take the turn, it just depends on how grippy the tires are really.

I've driven that damn track at least 2000 laps on my PS and Xbox in the last 8 years...I'm kinda bummed they're so harsh with sound limits- when I take my RS to CA this offseason, I'd love to drive there. I might get to do it parade style at the ALMS race in october.

JC3D

But when practicing with Gran Turisimo 4, don't use the bridge over 9 to judge anything with. After the game was made, it was moved further up the hill to accommodate motogp safety standards.

ervtx

Except that Skip Barber sticks 4 cones in the middle of the track indicating the proper turn-in for 9. See my youtube video.

I have found that the Chatterham in GT4 most closely approximates the characteristics of the Formula Dodge. It's just a tad faster.

race911

Funny I find this while I'm pausing on a 30 lapper at Laguna on Forza 2.

Laguna's (the current neutered version) is very learnable, very drivable. But as with all tracks, there's all sorts of little places to get speed that separate the pros from the rest of us (apologies to pros here and reading this).

I wish one of these game makers would put historic tracks together. Always remember when we were filler groups for the revitalized Trans Am series ('83-'84) where the front runners, Ribbs, Hobbs, Lobenberg, etc would powerslide through 2 at about 140! Not braking to a near standstill for a lame *** hairpin. And 4 (now 6), the old saying went that if you missed it and fell off the outside you'd end up in Salinas.

ervtx

Which reminds me, one of the best things about SB (or any other racing school, I imagine) is the length of the sessions compared to DE's. At least in my class last summer, we had such a small group that we didn't have to split into two groups and two people sharing the same car. So they let all of us run the lapping sessions until it looked like more than just a few were showing signs of fatigue, then they'd call us in. I remember one session that seemed to go on for 40 minutes. I was getting a good cardiovascular workout and remember after 15 or so minutes, trying to get into a groove in terms of breathing in sync with the flow of the track. Never had to think that explicitly about breathing in a DE - sessions are too short.

I doubt that I could go 30 laps at Laguna without pausing either.

C.J. Ichiban

breathing is a big part of keeping your body in shape during those hard cornering loads, and lets you extend your mental focus down the track a bit further...I picked that up in ghetto karts but I'm sure it makes an enormous difference in formula cars especially.

Ken, were you running the D-class enduro on there?

race911

The pause was due to the call of my lovely wife for a delicious dinner. I was using an R32 Golf; I'm still not fluent in what classes they all use on the game. But I DO know that no way in hell could I run a real one on the real track at a comfortable 1:38-:39 pace, lap after lap!

ervtx

I also recall that if I stayed ahead of the curve on my breathing, I was less likely to get behind on managing the car around the track. If I got behind on breathing, I'd start driving point-to-point and less smoothly. Crap, now I've got that bug to go back!

fuenfer

BTW, any advice on hotels to stay at? I took a look at the hotels recommended on the Laguna Seca website, and they're all $250+ per night (I suspect part of this might have to do with this being 4th of July weekend).

Can anyone recommend a hotel that might be either (a) a bit further away and (b) just basic, but clean (I'm thinking something like the Falls Motel at WGI)? I would appreciate any and all suggestions. Thanks.

race911

Anything on Fremont in Monterey (or in Seaside, just a little "dumpier") are closest. The former (?) Way Station Inn next to the airport is closest. In Marina there's a Motel 6. Salinas is 10-12 miles the other way.

fuenfer

Come join me out there -- we'll be on completely equal footing, driving the same cars, same new track, errrr, just a little weight difference in the drivers. Seriously, 4th of July weekend, it'll be fun. We can even share a hotel room.

C.J. Ichiban

I'm bummed I can't go until october...

ervtx

Last June (week before July 4th) a friend and I split a 2-bedroom suite w kitchen and living room at the Residence Inn Salinas for 230 per night, so a single would have been quite a bit less. About a 20 minute drive to the track.

171mph

one of the best exercises was the 3rd day turn 2 braking drill. they have u come down the straight WOT in 4th and have a cone between the 1 and 2 market (IIRC) at which u brake hard and double apex the turn while trailing braking. at first u think they are nuts (especially if you've done DEs at LS in a road car) but the stopping ability of those cars is unreal.