My Racing Series

[Chatters]

Yep, we can all add another list of Fantasy Series to look at, because I am starting my own.

My racing series (or the Chatters Racing Series) will consist of 25 rounds, spanned across 5 different continents (Australia, Europe, Asia, North and South America).

Track #1: Picton Race Track

History

After the closure of Catalina Park in Katoomba, there was a void left in the lives of many racers who loved the circuits tricky turns and high speeds. With the lack of mountain tracks in Australia, a group of French enthusiasts started looking for a suitable place to build another track. The relatively small town of Picton in the New South Wales southern highlands was chosen because of its relatively easy access from Sydney and its growing population and economy at the time. Work began on the circuit in July 1978, and was completed in November 1979. Work on the track was very dangerous, with lots of excavation work needed, and the threat of land collapsing, as the track was built on top of the Picton mines, which span under the general area of Picton and its adjoining town of Bargo. On January 1, 1980, the track was officially opened with a meeting of the Australian Touring Car Championship, won by Peter Brock. As a prize, Turn 3 of the track was named after Brock.

The high mountains of the Southern Highlands made the track very challenging and unforgiving, with no room for error, as the only turns that had run off were the final two heading onto the front straight. After a series of horrible accidents, which culminated in 1984, when a Formula Ford driver, David Jenkins, was killed when his car failed to stop for PB Corner prompted the NSW State Government to pass approval for further excavation of the track to provide appropriate run-off at all corners and widening of the track. The track was closed in October 1984 and re-opened in March 1986 with a redesigned PB Corner.

Racing continued normally, with the circuit playing host to rounds of the ATCC, Formula Ford, and many other club events until 1996, when the back straight, which ran directly over a mine shaft, threatened to collapse. The mine shaft, which at that time was disused, was filled in immediately, but the damage was done. The track had to be closed yet again and a new hairpin, back straight and final corner complex was added. The track re-opened in May 1997 and has continued uninterrupted since then.

Lap Of The Track

Running in a clockwise direction, the lap starts with the quick run to the Grand Sweeper. This smooth left hand sweeper is made difficult because it swoops down a hill right at the apex, which understeers the car enormously and forces the drivers to drift right out to the edge of the road. Over the years the turn has seen many rollovers when a driver has taken their mind of the job and dips a wheel into the grass, turning it hard left. With the slope of the hill, the car simply tips over and can roll all the way down the hill to PB Corner. Out of Grand Sweeper drivers must stay alert as they fly down the hill to Courbure Guache, which is a sweeping left hander, still continuing down the hill.

Hard on the brakes into PB Corner, named after the legendary Peter Brock, the steep climb begins up Graham Hill, named for obvious reasons. It is a hard slog up the hill up to Aucun Nom, which translated means "no name". From there the track levels out momentarily until you approach Coal Corner, named after the coal mines surrounding the area. In the early 1980s, when the track was new, coal miners could have their lunch break at a mine and view the racing which could be over 1 kilometre away, such was the spectacular view from the mountains.

Another short climb up to "The Bump" which is a very difficult turn for drivers as it is a blind brow, with a bump in the road right on the apex, which forces drivers out wide to avoid it. Drivers which have hit the bump usually end up on two wheels and into the outside wall. The track then swoops down into Nouveau Hairpin, which means "new hairpin". The track then runs level for the rest of the lap as the drivers go flat out down the back straight and into the Senna Kink which, with it's closeness to the pitlane, has a concrete wall waiting on the outside of the turn for any unsuspecting victim. From there the drivers run up to the CCC, or the Criss Cross Complex, a short series of right and left handers which leads onto the front straight to begin another lap of this daunting, challenging and at some times dangerous circuit.

[jab]

Really like it. Problem is turn 1 - looks a bit dangerous considering the pitlane comes out on the outside, meaning not a great deal of run-off. But other than that, fantastic track

[Yannick]

The first half, from the start to the Bump is really good. Overtaking in Coal Corner must be very exiting. But the safety issues on this track are really worrying, especially the one with the pit building behind the wall at Senna Kink, which is really too much.
You should consider doing something about that in a future version.

[Chatters]

Well, think of the Senna Kink as the sweeper at the Adelaide street circuit... flat out, scraping the wall sort of stuff. And the pit building wouldn't be right behind it, it would end before the pit lane comes close to the track there.

[jab]

Yeah but it might be scraping the wall in normal racing, but a technical failure...

[shambles]

I've edited Chatters' track slightly;


As you can see, I've sort of re-alligned the kink, and altered pit-lane.

[ScotsBrutesFan]

On the original design, you'd get away with the senna kink if you switched the pitlane to the outside.

The entrance either from just on the straight, or the outside mid way around the final corner with a large loop allowing for run-off.

The pit exit rejoin would be just after the apex of the Grand Sweeper.

[Yannick]

That edit makes the track really great, martin-1.

[Chatters]

Here is the official edit, folks. martin, while I do like your edit, you have removed the Senna Kink completely, something which I feel challenges the drivers.

In this edit, the Senna Kink has been moved back, reducing speed and putting further distance between it and the pits, allowing runoff.

[Chatters]

"Heathrow is one of those tracks that you can't help but enjoy. You couldn't imagine that what I thought at first sight was a dull track could actually turn out to be quite exciting." -Enzo Ferrari

Welcome to track 2 in the Chatters Racing Series: Heathrow.

History

In the 1930s motorsport in Britian was relatively small. Despite plenty of enthusiasm to build a dedicated circuit, local Governments were reluctant to set aside such a vast amount of money to gain little profit in return. However with the opening of Heathrow Airport in the early '30s racer saw a potential race track, with the airport at that time primarily used for testing.

Designers, with the help of Enzo Ferrari, originally created a series of straights running along the runways, similar to the then unthought of Silverstone circuit from the '50s. In 1938 the track held its first race. However racers claimed this was too boring, and in 1942 the track was closed in what was expected to be some simple redesigning to add new corners. However the owners of the airport at the time, Fairey Aviation, stepped in and refused to allow the upgrades to go ahead, claiming that the developers who wanted to redesign the track couldn't pay the compensation for the profits that would be lost by closing the airport.

So, once again, motor racing seemed destined to be pushed back into insignificance. All hope seemed lost until 1949, when Enzo Ferrari donated a large amount of cash for the purchase of land and the construction of the redesigned Heathrow track outside of London. Construction began in March 1950 and was completed in August 1951. The track was merely a warped rectangle, but was used for many years as a testing ground cars and bikes alike with very few races being held there.

So it was again with great sadness that in 1959 Heathrow was closed yet again while designers went back to the drawing board and came up with a brand new track using very little of the original track, had lots of elevation changes, plenty of corners, and a heap of overtaking opportunities. In 1962 the redesigned Heathrow was once opened and racing began straight away, with the first ever race fittingly won by Enzo Ferrari in a "Past Masters" series. From then on the great Enzo had two corners of the track named after him, Enzo and Ferrari corner. In 1968 the circuit gained the rights to hold a second British Grand Prix in 1969, which was a huge honour at the time. However Formula 1 never gained a chance to race there after the owners of the track went bankrupt and the circuit was closed yet again. Enthusiasts managed to buy the track off the owners before they sold it to land developers and in 1970 racing resumed.

The track is known as a relatively safe circuit, with plenty of run-off all around the track. No fatalities have been recorded in official racing, however a young drag racer did pass away while testing illegally at the circuit in 1984. However safety is still paramount to the owners of the track, and continual upgrades of barriers, run-off and spectator safety is always being carried out to assure the fatalities remain at a minimum.

Lap Of The Track

Running in a clockwise direction, the lap starts with a long run around Runway Corner, which has drivers on edge as they cannot around the corner unless they are on the outside due to the pit wall on the inside. From there you quickly accelerate to turns 2 and 3, known as "The Loop". Turn 3 starts to dip down as you go down the hill into Enzo Hairpin, which is quite a bit lower than the main straight it runs parallel to. From there a quick burst of acceleration brings you to Ferrari Corner, which can be taken very fast for those drivers with no fear.

Out of Ferrari corner the track begins to climb again, and as you turn left into Foster's Chicane it is single file all the way as after the right hander is a blind brow before the track swoops down to 747 Corner, a sort of helixed corner where the track banks and also heads down. The track flattens yet again for the next turn, a right hander, before once again heading down the hill into Parallel Park, named because drivers going side by side can drive so slowly they are almost stopped. This part of the track is easily visible from the main straight, as it is lower than both the main straight and Enzo Hairpin. Out of the hairpin it is a gentle climb up the hill on the approach to Windsock Corner, which then flows into Burns Corner, named after the great Richard Burns.

From there the long back straight beckons, gently curving its way into the new AB Corner, which stands for Accelrate/Brake Corner. The chicance was put there to slow the drivers approach to the final corner which brings them onto the main straight to complete another lap of the Heathrow circuit.

[Matt]

Your pretty good at this Chatters, I'm looking forward to see the rest!

[Chatters]

No-one else seems to think so, or they'd be commenting on my good work.

[kivipallur92]

I'm looking forward to your next track,because the two tracks which have you made are pretty good.

[shambles]

I quite like Heathrow Chatters, some people could say that it's perhaps a bit too tight in sections, but on closer inspection - I don't believe that to be the case.

Looking good.

[jab]

Love the design. However it doesn't really strike me as an airfield circuit - not that that matters

[V8_TURBO]

Heathrow looks cool chatters. Keep it up.

[Chatters]

"The only thing I don't like about California Raceway is the fact that I know, eventually, the race will finish! It's such a good track I wish it'd never end!"
-Mario Andretti

Welcome to track #4 in the CRT: California Raceway.


History

Racing is California has always been popular. From Laguna Seca, to Long Beach, to Sears Point, there is no shortage of tracks to run around. But in 1980 another venue was added to the collection: California Raceway.

In the late 1970's America was gripped with Andretti fever. The lovable Italian-American was the Formula 1 World Champion, and people were gripped with motor racing fever. A small building company decided to get in on the act and seeked approval to build a racetrack just out of San Francisco. Who better to design the track then Mario Andretti himself. In July 1979 construction began, and a quick 13 months later the track was finished. The first race, fittingly, was won by Andretti himself.

Originally designed for soprtscars, the popularity of it's fast, flowing nature soon attracted many types of racing. From Formula 1, who raced there in 1980 and 1981, to the American Le Mans Series, Calfornia Raceway has seen it all.

However, after a serious crash which injured 4 and killed 1 happened at the final turn onto Pit Straight in 1984, a safety commission was launched to improve the safety of the track. They found the cause of the accident was due to the high amount of bumps running into the turn which unsettled the cars, and caused one, driven by Mark James, to lose control and spin into the wall backwards. Though surviving the initial crash the carnage that followed saw him struck head on by 2 cars, each travelling at an estimated 150 km/h. In September 1984 the track was closed for modifications.

The resulting track adjustments added Long Beach, Third Hairpin (named "Second Hairpin" before the next lot of track improvements) and Pit Chicane. The track re-opened in March 1985 amid much fanfare and sorrow for the loss of a great young talent.

Racing continued for 19 more years uninterrupted. In late 2004 the track was purchased by a group of Russian investors who decided to liven the track up and give the drivers more of a challenge. The track was shut in November 2004 and when re-opened in May 2005, eight new corners had been created, and the track's name had been changed to "Гордость России в америке". Mark's Bend was named after Mark James. In June 2006 the track was again sold, this time to a very wealthy Californian who renamed the track back to it's original name.

Lap Of The Track

Your lap starts on the sweeping left hand bend that is the Pit "Straight". It's hard on the brakes for Andretti corner, a near 90 degree bend. No time to accelerate again as you head into Turn 2, another right turn. Into the dugout and another pair of 90 degree left handers await you. You can get a quick burst out of Turn 3 into Turn 4, then short run up to Andreas, the final two corner of the 90-degree-a-thon. Foot to the floor as you run down the hill, through Mark's Bend, a flatout left hander, then hard on the brakes for San Fran Corner.

Another quick burst of throttle as you run into Insomniac Corner, then flat out again as you head up the hill to First Hairpin. Daring drivers will place themselves right on the outside and take the corner much faster then it was intended...

Out of First Hairpin and you're on the long, flat back straight. Cars can pull 6th gear down here, and a Champ Car can be on the rev limiter for quite a long time before you need to brake into Second Hairpin. Down through the gears and hard left as you go through the corner, then up a hill and around Long Beach, a tricky, blind, decieving corner. First timers around the track will underestimate it's tightness and run straight into the concrete wall waiting to greet them. Still climbing as you head into Third Hairpin, with the best view of the entire track, then an amazingly steep run down to Pit Chicane. Lots of runoff is a given. Out of the chicane and you hit the throttle and cross the finish line to complete a lap of California Raceway.

[ScotsBrutesFan]

As a circuit I think it's ok, I'm not sure about the Fosters/747/Parallel Park section though

[Yannick]

Your 'official' edit of Picton brings back a great track that had been voted out for safety reasons. Thanks.

Regarding the 2nd entry in your series, the first thing that I noticed is that the shape of the 'old' track looks very similar to the old Silverstone, where Runway would be Copse and Burns would be Club Corner. I feel something like Parallel Park would destroy Silverstone, so I prefer the pale grey shortcut that pushes 747 Corner back a few hundred yards.
But I also feel that I'm too biased towards the old version to say anything really productive about your current version of Heathrow.

[Chatters]

Well as I said in the history Yannick, it was originally built on an airfield similar to the origin of Silverstone, so maybe that's a factor too.

[Chatters]

"I love Paris International. The run up the hill is amazing. You want to stop, hop out of your car, and admire the view. In fact, I recall I did that once..." - Jean Alesi

Welcome to track #3 in the CRS: Paris International.

History

[Chatters]

Oops, that wasn't meant to post... Check back later, I'll finish it off.

[shambles]

Looks great mate!

[Rockmunky]

Reminds me a bit of Sears point, and cadwell, interesting, i like!

[formula1fan]

Great track! And I have reached my 100th post!