My Tracks

[Jordi]

Holy ****. I can't see it too well, but it would be bloody fast. Can you make a clearer map of it?

[Number Juan]

wow, that is FAST and LONG, a real car-breaker and harking back to the days of the ring'...i love it

[Lee Janotta]

Thanks... Shame they'd never allow anything to run on it... Only rally organizers would think it's even remotely safe.

Personally, I still feel there's a place for that sort of racing... It'd be nice if we had a street-stock supercar championship that could run on massive real-road tracks like that. Paginis, Enzos, McLarens, Murcielagos...

I'm afraid that's as big an image as I can post, Jordi... It doesn't really look much clearer zoomed in, though.

[Lee Janotta]

Hey Mac, I reconsidered my changes to the A1-Ring... I think this profile for the last two corners would be better... Creates a passing spot to compensate for the ones lost in the fast sections.

Braking into the Gösser Kurve is still insane, though... Just as it should be.

[Lee Janotta]

Okay, in keeping with my philosophy that major cities should have at least 2 road courses within an hour of the city center, here's Lorain County Raceway. Which would be my home track if it existed. It's based on land owned by the county and used to a small regional airport. The cost of building and maintaining this track would be minimal, and it would only be used for club racing, and on rare occaisons national series. Highway access isn't great, and Burke Lakefront Airport downtown is a much better venue for CART and Trans-Am.

[Lee Janotta]

It runs clockwise, by the way... A first for me!

[mac]

That looks better on the A1-Ring. I never like to lose passing zones (I am a Zanardi worshipper, after all). That would also make the last turn an eye-opener for drivers.

One reason I changed the track like I did was to throw a couple of left-handers in there.

The new one looks like it would have some pretty cool bits over the back there. And there's a couple of passing spots. I don't think there'd be a problem with it hosting CART or F1 even, providing the length fits and the facilities were up to standard.

I still preferred your club one, or whatever your last road course with an oval in the corner of it was. Even though I don't like the final oval turn on it. But this one's pretty good.

[Lee Janotta]

Uhm... It won't _have_ facilities, mac. It's a club track, just pavement and some minimal timing & scoring equipment. The cars'll have to use aviation fuel if they buy gas on site.

[mac]

Here we go - my next effort: Quakers Hat Raceway.

[mac]

Quakers Hat is a shortish track. It runs clockwise and includes 3 passing spots.

Turn 1 is a flat 90 degree right-hander at the end of the long main straight. It's the first good passing place.

After 1 is a short shute to the fast turn 2, 3 & 4 esses section (right-left-right). This section is uphill. Turn 2 is tighter than turn 3, which is tighter than turn 4 (merely a kink).

From this section is a straight, which flattens out about halfway down. At the end of this straight is the flat turns 5 & 6 chicane. It is right-left and is the 2nd passing spot on the track.

Immediately after the chicane is the turn 7 hairpin. This is a long, pretty slow, banked right-hander.

Immediately after 7 is 8 - an accelerating left. The track runs downhill through this corner, but flattens out immediately at the exit.

After 8 is a short straight, building up speed for the tricky left-left-right section. Turn 9 is a fast, slightly downhill left. Immediately after this turn is a more downhill esses section. The turns 10&11 left-right esses is a reasonably quick section.

A good run is required from this section, as it leads onto a straight and the next passing zone. Shortly after the exit of 11, the track begins going uphill. This ceases about halfway down the straight.

At the end of the straight is a tight, flat right-hander - turn 12. This is the last passing place on the lap.

12 is immediately followed by 13, a flat, fast-ish right leading onto the long, main straight. A good exit from 12 and a good run through 13 is important as the main straight is particularly long.

Turns 14&15 are only recognised because they form part of the front stretch. They are slight left and right kinks in the first half of the front stretch.

What are your thoughts?

[Tristan]

Spa infield crossed with Montreal, non??

[mac]

It wasn't designed as such, and I never thought of it that way. But I'll take that compliment any day, thanks Tristan.

[Jordi]

Some parts remind me of Imola.....

[Lee Janotta]

Most everything you do reminds me of Imola, Mac.

Actually, this is a pretty good example of the modern school of track design. A long pit straight, a good passing zone, then a rythmic section leading to a short straight, then another passing zone, a tight twisty section, then some fast, open stuff, leading into a long increasing radius 180, and back onto the straight.

Nice job.

[mac]

Is this the good, flowing Imola, or the rubbish, too many chicanes Imola?

[Lee Janotta]

A little bit of both, actually.

You seem to have a bit of Aqua Minerale there around turn 9, though turned the other way. Plus the definite break between the fast and slow sections... Where as I tend to try and break things about a bit more. Just a matter of preference, this is certainly a good track.

[Jordi]

Indeed, Acqua Minerale seems to be there, the finals tow corners look a little bit like Rivazza, and I see some Variante Alta in there too.
Also, the first part reminds me of Watkins Glen, with the 90º turn and the right-left turn afterwards. That is good, I like the Glen.

[Lee Janotta]

I posted a primitive version of this track in the CART forum a while back. Here's a more mature version. It's Boundary Bay Airport, about half an hour to the south of downtown Vancouver.

[mac]

That looks pretty sharp. Turn one would be interesting. And there's a couple of good passing places there. I think it would be good racing at that place. I especially like 1, 2 & 3, and turn 8.

[Lee Janotta]

Crud, I always forget to tell people which way it's run. :confused:

I designed it to be run clockwise, but I suppose it could go either way.

I see you're point Mac, it toes look somewhat more interesting going counter-clockwise.

[mac]

No it doesn't, I was going on it running clockwise.

[Lee Janotta]

Oh. Uhm... Okay then.

Now that I really look at it though, I think _I_ like it better going clockwise. Fast turns in 9 and 10 dumping the cars onto the pit straight, racing into a tight first turn.

[mac]

Lee, I think you've got clockwise and counter-clockwise mixed up. Clockwise will make turns 1&2 those 2 fast right-handers. That's the way I like it.

[Lee Janotta]

Feh. Blame the American educational system.

I designed it to run clockwise, I like it better now counter-clockwise because those two wide turn lead into the pit straight, and then that super-tight turn in the northwest corner.

[Lee Janotta]

I lost the detailed description I typed for this monster (somewhere between 3.5 and 4.0 miles) designed for the Los Angeles area. Inspired by Riverside, Zandvoort, and the old Nuburgring (massive elevation changes).