Phakisa Freeway - Welkom

[the_royksopp]

Hey,

So, with lots of talks about a future South African Grand Prix, i decided to have a look at whats already in the country, to find an alternative to the inevitable Tilke-ring.

Kyalami is perhaps a bit outdated, so i figured the best bet would be the Phakisa Freeway near Welkom.

Now, the track would need some updating, but i think it's got potential. The track length is 4,2 km's.

So, what would be your ideas for this raceway? I'll have a go later this week

[f1freak]

You see, this is what sucks...

You have these Tilke-rings, where every corner is extremly technical, there are hairpins and chicanes everywhere and its just a bad race to watch (most of the time)...

Then you have these circuits, which have NO hairpins and chicane, which are just a bunch of fast corners, which do indeed require skill, however, don't really have that 'i REALLY wanna watch this race' appeal to it...

So, in my opinion, I'd simply make a few minor adjustments and a small extension on the existing circuit to make the track more appealing...

(I made the new circuit now)


I am not 100% happy with this new layout of mine, however, the changes that I have made may help increase the track's potential for an interesting-good mix race...

However, come to think of it (this is indeed after I drew the circuit), there are circuits out there which are more simple, I'm thinking of the V8 Supercar circuits such as Ipswitch (Queensland Raceway), Hidden Valley and Barbagallo, and they all still produce good racing... So, maybe this circuit doesn't need any changes at all!!!...

[the_royksopp]

Thats nice!

[Mike_Wooshy]

Originally Posted by f1freak

So, maybe this circuit doesn't need any changes at all!!!...

thats how i think this track is, its great ...... but some changes could be done like yours mate which were nice ... ill have alook at it a bit later.

[Mike_Wooshy]

also if you look at the track it seems to be more mounds than grandstands i think that should be a concern.

[Cougar]

Also the track suffers from dust blowing in from the surrounding area. I havnt been there myself but I dont think its quite the same issue as in Bahrain where they have sand? and they used "glue" to hold down the sand in the immidiate area surounding the track.

Are there any solutions to this issue? What measure would you use to lessen the effect of the dust?

[the_royksopp]

I'd make it a special challenge for the drivers . Nah, one could put up some barriers. The glue-solution used in Bahrain was anyway a bit too radical .

But how big a problem is it?

Anyway, i realise now, that i didnt even make my own edit - totally forgot .

[Cougar]

I suppose its not THAT big of a problem, just a issue that the track is "green" every morning when the drivers go out. It could be left as a feature of the track.

Green grass around the track would look nice though But the dust comes from even further away.

[the_royksopp]

Grass would look nice. It looks like there's plenty of room to extend the circuit and make additional grandstands.

I'm a bit busy this weekend, so my edit might be a longer time underway .

[Cougar]

The oval track will need to be considered when you place grandstands. One they are going to keep the fans away from the road circuit and two you dont want to spoil the view of the Oval by putting in big stands within it...

[the_royksopp]

Yeah. .

[HRT433]

my edit, the original track can be still seen beneath as a guide

i don't know which way this track runs but this is based on it being anti-clockwise

I've put a couple of small kinks in the top loop

straighten out one of the long stretches, and made the other a long sweeper running up to the pit entry

"the boot" section is where the main changes have been made, it runs 180-degrees right before a couple of left-handers into a tight right hand corner, it the rejoins existing circuit.

at the 'heel' of the boot the corner has also been taken 180-degree around to the left, then into a tight right-hander that takes you onto the re-shaped straight leading to the pits.

[the_royksopp]

I believe it goes clockwise.

Anyway, i dont like your new section at the tip of the boot. The rest is good.

[luke]

Take a look of this, a hint of Jerez. linko

[pirenzo]

I quite like that HRT.

As TR says, the 'boot' bit is a bit odd, but overall its fine

Please note however that the advertising of your site is not permitted on the forums, except in 'Cool Sites' (which I think you need a certain number of posts to see). In future don't put your url on your images please. Thanks. By all means put it in your profile though for the time being, that way when people click on your username they can choose to visit your homepage.

[luke]

Edited.

[pirenzo]

Not you Luke, HRT

BTW, which direction does the track go in?
I might try my own edit later.

[Slurpy]

90% sure you'd be driving west (as far as the pictures are concerned) through the pits. Either that or the runoff areas are really screwy.

[HRT433]

Originally Posted by pirenzo

I quite like that HRT.

As TR says, the 'boot' bit is a bit odd, but overall its fine

I agree the boot section needs work, but then againg I only spent about 10 mins editiing the track so I'll have another go this arvo.

Originally Posted by pirenzo

Please note however that the advertising of your site is not permitted on the forums, except in 'Cool Sites' (which I think you need a certain number of posts to see). In future don't put your url on your images please. Thanks. By all means put it in your profile though for the time being, that way when people click on your username they can choose to visit your homepage.

sorry about that, i have removed the urls from the pics

I only included the url cause I have had my pictures posted on other forums with people claiming them to be their own in the past, hope leaving the logos on them is ok if not let me know and i shall remove them.

[pirenzo]

Yeah, I think the logo's are fine.