Yannick's "4 in a month" thread

[Yannick]

Hello fellow MyTrackers and guest readers, too!

Upon the invitation of bio, I have decided to start my own "4 in a month" thread. I have no idea whether I make it to 4, but to be honest, 2 in a month is rather likely.

Here's my first one. It's derived from a blotch of wet footprints that I saw yesterday on the floor of the underground train I was on.

I'd like to call it "Blue December" for the lack of a better name. It's about 4.7 kilometers and yes, for a change, you see many sharp corners here. Without these, the track would not be able to generate lap times of over 1:00 minute for the fastest vehicles that are allowed to run on it. Main overtaking opportunities are the 1st, the 2nd and the penultimate corner. The optional infield section is slower - and has got a few buildings lining the short straights of the rectangular corners that are not in the diagram.

Feel free to discuss - or do something else with the blot shape.
Cheers

Yannick

[ECW Dan Selby]

This is so American-street, and I like it.

And i'm also relieved that someone else looks at random shapes created by objects and imagines them as track layouts...

Selby

[bio]

Agree with Dan (who could not, with our future inside man ), it reminded me of street tracks, too.

As for using random shapes - Yannick has a rich history, he's a pro in that respect (too ). I remember Spearmint Raceway, for example

bio

[Yannick]

Thanks for the comments, guys. I'm glad you like the track. Here's the next one:

To keep up with the intended number of tracks, "4 in a month", it's about time for the 2nd one for December 2010. So yesterday, I doodled around and this is what I came up with.

It's a 4.6 kilometer long road course in a rolling landscape, mainly covered with grass, but there are a few single trees somewhere as well. Hence, I picked a green background ;-) The circuit runs anticlockwise. The concept was to come up with something simple that had straights and some corners that do not look like they are made with a curve tool.

I hope you like it a bit. Please feel free to edit the track if you like.
Thanks for reading.

Until next time!

[SpeedingTortoise]

looks like a cross between hochenheim and hungaroring. T12 and 13 look a real challenge for the driver. only problem i have with it is the second last corner looks really tight and theres not much of a straight before it which kinda breaks the flow of the circuit but still a great circuit

[bio]

Yeah, Hungaroring was what came to my ind to

But, of course, only at the first glance. This would be a totally different experience to race on, I guess.

My favourite part is the complex just before the S/F straight. Looks like helluva challenge to find the rythm there - but once you got it, it's like nirvana

bio

[LuiggiSpeed]

I like it too, but I would put the pit enter a little further from the last turn, so that no issues arise between racers fighting for the corner and riders slowing down to enter, allow them a little more straight to find their place and then fade to the left.

[Teretonga]

How long is the start straight? The pit lane seems really long and I'd agree with LuiggiSpeed about bringing the entrance further down the straight and away from the corner. But that aside it would be a revelation to drive.

[Yannick]

Well, folks, Teretonga has caught me messing up the scale of the track. That was a drawing error of mine. It has happened before, but indeed it shouldn't.

So to distract your attention from that little mishap, here's #3 of this month's "4 in a month". The track runs anticlockwise and I've kept it very "simple", reprising simple elements I've already used on previous tracks. I hope it's not a boring design but I guess it won't be, because it's fast.
I don't know how long it actually is, but I guess it will be rather on the medium to long side of things with around 5.2 kilometers so the lap times are easily above the 1:00 or even 1:20 mark.

Enjoy and merry Xmas!

[bio]

Well, it would surely be an intense race
It looks lke a true born street circuit - speed - or rahter, the lack thereof - would definitely not be complained about here

bio

[dyewat808]

Originally Posted by bio

Agree with Dan (who could not, with our future inside man ), it reminded me of street tracks, too.

As for using random shapes - Yannick has a rich history, he's a pro in that respect (too ). I remember Spearmint Raceway, for example

bio

Hehehehe, oh my god, obviously before my time, but hell I should look back through the archives more often - this made me laugh so much:

The addition of the new section lenghtened the course, now 3.95 miles (6.319 meters) long with an 1063 yard (957 meters) long start/finish straight.
This way the Altoid began to resemble the Eau Rouge even more. And, since the name Altoid got a very bad reputation because of the fatal crash, it seemed appropriate to rename it - so it became Eau Jaune, "in remembrance of what I experienced when I heard about the accident" William Wrigley later explained.
The new start/finish section reached deep into the infield area and looked - no use denying it - like a penis, especially the end corner, The Pricque.
Following that a short straight came followed the amply named Goolies - the remnants of the Hyperbolica. The Hubba corner disappeared.

What great corner names!

[bio]

My pleasure

bio

[Yannick]

Here is the 4th one for December. It's still funny to me that I did make it to 4 as planned.

This one runs anticlockwise and goes through slightly hilly countryside for 4.3 kilometers. It's got a short loop that's suitable for Formula 3 and other junior categories. I cannot give any info on topography because I haven't made it up yet. I just must post the track right now, otherwise December will be over ;-)

Enjoy!

[bio]

Tjhat's another fast one from you!

bio

[Yannick]

Thanks bio for the thumbs up.

Here's the first to be published in 2011, and this time it's one of the "weird conceptual track" variety. I had thought about the concept of a skislope circuit a few years back. Since global warming would lead to a decrease of tourism in skiing areas like the Alps for example, other attractions would need to be developed in the area, so why not a unique track for motor racing that features extreme elevation changes over the course of a single lap?
I don't know if the G-Maps service allows for a display of height lines, but the satellite picture should give you an impression of the overall height at which the ski slopes start. Enjoy!

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4193408

The track runs anticlockwise.

And let me invite you to design ski slope circuits of your own! I'm already looking forward to your ideas on the subject. Thanks.

[Purist]

It's an interesting thought. Thankfully, the major resorts have provisions for making their own snow if that is required.

Anyway, this reminded me of a couple of tracks that have come from the Gran Turismo series. Grindelwald from GT2 and Eiger Nordwand from GT5 are placed at the feet of the Bernese Alps, and specifically, at the feet of the Eiger, Monk, and Jungfrau peaks.

Thanks to the digital switchover making Universal Sports an over-the-air channel, I've been catching a lot of action from the Wold Cup of Alpine Skiing. The next two downhill events are the biggest on the calendar: Wengen, Switzerland (the Lauberhorn) and Kitzbuhl, Austria (the Hahnenkamm). If my memory serves, these courses encompass more than 2,500 vertical feet each. The Hahnenkamm downhill is roughly 2 miles, which the Lauberhorn is at least 2.7 miles, and my be as much as 3 miles long.

[bio]

Judging from the roads there isn't a very huuuuge amount of height changes here - the rads aren't especially twisty. So, it might even be scalable for most sports cars, huh?

bio

[Purist]

I just looked at it again, and my brain really wasn't awake enough when I wrote that last post; I hope that last paragraph is still understandable to you guys.

[bio]

Crystal clear to me.

bio

[ScotsBrutesFan]

Jeez Yannick some of those slopes are near vertical.

using the terrain option you have a low point of 930m to high of 1260m

The only straight worth the name is 500m long and goes upwards or downward 200m vertically.

By comparison Bathurst probably the highest height differential around, has a total height difference of around 170m, the 1km long Conrod and Mountain straights "only" have around 50m of climb and drop respectively.

[Yannick]

Originally Posted by ScotsBrutesFan

Jeez Yannick some of those slopes are near vertical.

using the terrain option you have a low point of 930m to high of 1260m

The only straight worth the name is 500m long and goes upwards or downward 200m vertically.

By comparison Bathurst probably the highest height differential around, has a total height difference of around 170m, the 1km long Conrod and Mountain straights "only" have around 50m of climb and drop respectively.

Yes, SBF, I did make the big mistake that can be made when designing this type of circuit: I drew it on the satellite picture, disregarding the terrain option. Yes, the point of the circuit was to have at least one straight-ish slope going on for several hundred meters almost vertically, but I guess in my first attempt at a skislope circuit, I misplaced the main straight (which is meant to be flat and in the valley) on one of the slopes.

SBF, please feel invited to come up with your own skislope circuit. Thank you in advance for trying.

[Yannick]

Back to something more conventional this time around. Here's another fast one: 5.0 kilometers long and run anticlockwise. Enjoy!

[SpeedingTortoise]

Reminds me of queensland raceway but with much longer straights. It looks like overtaking would be difficult round here with the only hard braking point being T3. Perhaps not the best circuit for F1 racing but i think GT1s or possibly Aussie V8s would have some good racing round here.

[Teretonga]

Originally Posted by SpeedingTortoise

Reminds me of queensland raceway but with much longer straights. It looks like overtaking would be difficult round here with the only hard braking point being T3. Perhaps not the best circuit for F1 racing but i think GT1s or possibly Aussie V8s would have some good racing round here.

the true Hockenheim had little more to recommend it yet I miss it dearly from the f1 calendar.
Siple shapes (Monza? Silverstone pre 1978?) offer high speed circuits with great slipstreaming oppostunites and some fantastic races so no, I think such a simple shape could offer us some fantastic F1 racing.

[bio]

Smple yet effective. That penultimate corner is just awesome.

bio