J richard

VR, agreed, I should have put the quotes on "throw away". It's finding that balanced compromise, and unlke a sweeper where you know it immediately worked or not, you don't know if a different technique paid off until the entry to the next turn or an entire lap...

Cory M

I find turn 9 at California Speedway to be tough as well. It's a flat turn with a decreasing radius. You are going pretty fast on the entry and you need to slow quite a bit to get the car to rotate and hit the apex. It's also before a straight so exit speed is key. If you enter the turn too fast you overcook it or miss the apex. If you slow down too much you lose that speed all the way down the straight. In one car I drive I take it in 1st gear, in another car I can't get it into 1st so I take it in 2nd (both have regeared transmissions). Taking it in 1st forces you to slow down enough, but you quickly shift to 2nd on the exit while still in transition. High HP time attack cars take a wide entry and single apex the exit. Racers tend to take a line like the red one below, this helps protect the inside line and kind of increases your braking distance.

GuyIncognito

I think it's actually slightly downhill....

but yes, tough corner; fun to stand in that corner and watch all the various lines/techniques through there.

race911

I'll throw one out there that can only now exist in our memories--Riverside T9. RIP.

gums

Riverside! I know that track well, not because I've ever seen it, but as a kid my H.O. set was it!

Charles A. Toupin

T2 at Mosport because you need to be perfectly on the line to extract to most speed out of it. If you're turning 3 feet too soon or too late, you can't be full throttle at the apex.

T2 at Tremblant, blind and the angle of entry is hard to get properly, then leads to an exit that is sometimes, but not always, a bit hectic.

Temptation (#8) at Calabogie, decreasing radius turns are tough to get properly. Speed of entry is tough to get right, and the waiting before the apex makes me think I wasn't fast enough...

c.

jrgordonsenior

Cory it's not flat, it's actually off-camber. You need to ride your bike out there early before the driver's meeting in 2 weeks and take a look. My pro coach stays in the middle on the crown and rotates heavily under braking of course. I'll send you a short video of his in a 6-cup to watch. He turns a 40.1 in that video on the 4th lap in a stock 04' cup...

jrgordonsenior

I've been off there at exit on several occasions. Pros and top amateurs like you in the Ferrari seem to stay down low and somehow still make the apex while carrying lots of speed. I tried that line, a wider line, and everything in between when I was there 3 weeks ago. Never did feel comfortable....

Bob Rouleau

If I owned that track, I would reconfigure Temptation because it is a pain in the *** and requires more patience than I usually have. You know, wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait ... accelerate.

IcemanG17

Lately I have always felt I brake too much before T9 at Thunderhill....its a medium speed blind left hander.....I always hit my marks and roll flat then think "could have gone faster"......even when I get the car slightly loose on turn in I still think I can go faster!!!!

cwhota

Quick fix to make it great and fast ;o) Bruce are you here ???

The first one would make it more like Tremblant caroussel
And the second one just to make us brake before spoon going uphill instead of beging for more power
And it would probably create a nice elevation drop at the begining

Bob Rouleau

Marc, that's a great idea and it also takes care of those tire scrubbing corners at "Beak and Hook".

I'd like that a lot better

333pg333

We have a turn down here at a track called Eastern Creek which the V8s ran on recently. T2 is an ‘off camber-uphill-double apex-decreasing radius corner’ and it seems as if there are at least 3-4 different ways of droving this corner. Some go in wide and hold, to try and make it a late single apex with a faster exit. Others go shallow and hold a tight radius ‘shortest possible distance’ style. Then there’s the shallow early apex and straightline it out to a point and almost sailing like tack or square turn back to the 2nd apex which is right up the top of the corner. This allows you to catch up to someone in front that has taken the 1st option but then they get a better exit and faster entry into the next turn I believe. It’s one of those corners that is wait, wait, wait…and if you apply just a little bit of throttle a fraction too early you just wind up sideways even though it feels like you’re going very slowly. I think this is one of those corners that this ‘bending’ syndrome is setup for.

Old 2007 video with Mark Skaife doesn't do justice to the elevation or radius' of the turns. T2 being the 2nd turn after the main straight.

Charles A. Toupin

Marc, you read my mind. And if I may, I would add a third one: exiting spoon and going in a really fast banked right hander into the front straight. These 3 modifications (that I would call the "pro circuit", or whatever but you get the idea) could make it one of the nicest track in all of NA.

early_grayce

I think you taught me too much, Bob. I was going to pick those exact turns!
- Turn 17 at Sebring. Such a fast entry, very few good mid-corner landmarks, bumpy as all hell, and an intimidating exit.
- Turn 2 at Tremblant. Fast, blind, bump at the top when the car weighs nothing and is turning, and very little room for error.
- Turn 2 at Mosport. Fast, blind, light on entry, and very little room for error.

I share your thoughts on Temptation, it's a "tough" turn... but for the wrong reasons.

I'll also add
- Turn 3 at Laguna, as the whole thing just feels so awkward and uncomfortable.
- Turn 2 at Sonoma. Just simply difficult for every possible reason.