Track Design for Motorcycles

[AoB Special Stage]

I'm not entirely sure of the differences to be considered between cars and bikes.

I thought bikes are bad with elevation, given their mortal fear of banked corners (usually) and the importance of weight transfer, but Laguna Seca hosted MotoGP. I thought hairpins were a no-no because of Catalunya and Shanghai, but they run Mugello and Motegi.

I have experience racing bikes, but I don't feel it enough to make a call on the topic. Any help, especially from Luiggi?

[ECW Dan Selby]

Bikes tend to have longer radi (? - Radiuses) corners. A decent example would be a track like Brno

F1 tends to have sharper corners to promote elongated braking zones.

In short, bike tracks tend to have a lot of longer radi corners with flow, whereas (modern) F1 tends to have straights and short/tight corners.

Selby

[ECW Dan Selby]

And of course, bikes prefer gravel rather than tarmac run-off, as this stops the bike and rider travelling so far in the event of a crash.

Selby

[ScotsBrutesFan]

Bikes don't always prefer gravel, like any other user of the circuit, it depends on the corner.

A low side with the bike sliding to a halt on its side with just ground down pegs, bars and scuffed up fairing.

The same low side, bike skids of on its side, wheels hit the gravel digging in. The momentum of the bike picks it up throwing itself into the air with several hard landings on different parts of the bike causing total destruction.

By the same token, riders slide to a halt on Tarmac, gravel tends to throw them about, but as I say different corners need different solutions.

[ScotsBrutesFan]

When I think of a bike circuit, there are a couple that spring to mind...

Phillip Island and Ricardo Tormo in Valencia.

Polar opposites in many ways, one has barely a straight worth the terminology full of sweepers into tighter corners that mean trailbraking everywhere. The other apart from the main straight, is a series of short punchy straights with fairly tight corners.

The only common type corner would be Valencia's curved approach into the final corner.

[AoB Special Stage]

I've now ran COTA with both a race car and racebike, and I've noticed the best corners for one are the worst for the other.

[LuiggiSpeed]

Hey ! bike racer here, we do love elevation changes! it's the best sensation to climb a curve or downhill too, example Portimao. Cota kind of sucks for bikes, weird corners, sever lack of flow, but we also do love the "stop and go" tracks like Motegi

[Purist]

I'd say one of the biggest things, for cars or bikes, though bikes take it even less well, is to have good, smooth transitions between track, verge, and run-off. I'm still kind of flabbergasted that they got away with that trench along the first part of the Wellington Straight at Silverstone (the bit that sent Kimi for a ride in his Ferrari).