Ugly run-off areas

[Sodemo]

Is it just me that finds tarmac run off areas really ugly and horrid?

I see Spa is sprouting more tarmac run off, first at Eau Rouge and Blanchimant, now at Stavelot and the Bus Stop.

I hate the run offs both because they look ugly (replacing green grass / gravel) and because they are a get out of jail free card if a driver screws up.

Not happy.

[ASCII Man]

Yes, it diminishes the prestige and experience of Spa-Francorchamps.
If this continues then it won't take long for it to be transformed into another Höckenheim or worse, another Hungaroring....

And yes, they're ugly...

[T0MAT01]

Wouldn't Barrichello's quali lap have ended at the Bus stop were it not for this new run off? yet he lines up 6th for the race.
Somethings not right there.

[BootsOntheSide]

I was thinking about this as well. Tarmac run off areas are a bit of an insult to the heritage of a track like Spa. I don't like the look of the new Bus Stop corner (although we'll know for sure whether it provides overtaking tomorrow), but to have the old part of the track in that luminous lime green is pretty grotesque.

Having gravel or grass on the edge of a tough corner is essential to keep the challenge active. When the car has a bigegr effect than the driver, it becomes even more important that a driver's mistakes are adequately punished.

[nkh]

the tarmac run offs allows the drivers to take chances (and it often looks like they're more keen on keeping their possision than risking it to try to improve it, so it should improve the show just a bit...).

[ASCII Man]

No, it cheapens the sport and lowers the challenge for the drivers knowing they can screw up without losing too much time or getting trapped in the gravel.
Its a grade A, top of the line big ass bucket of Canadian moose****!

[nkh]

and grade A, top of the line has to really cut down on all thoes overtaking attempts, we want to see the cars either running like pearls on a string or parked in the sand, not this sissy stuff where Sato and co. can have a go at the car infront.

[ASCII Man]

I'd much rather watch a parade than watch losers who aren't good enough to keep it on the black stuff!

[nkh]

[StickShift]

I'd rather there be a substantial grass fringe between the track and the pavement runoff. It's just as safe, yet will punish the drivers if they run wide.

Austria last year was ridiculous. They were going some 30 or 40 feet wide of the curbing.

[Tim Falce]

So if you all like gravel traps and grass run off, then you must like seeing cars beached or flying across grass and into the armco or tyre walls. I prefer to see the cars racing than sitting on the side of the track so maybe there should just be some form of time penalty for crossing the boundries.

[alfasud]

It's funny.... not long ago we had people complaining about rule changes to slow the cars down. But the flip side, is that if the cars are faster, the tracks will need modifications to slow the cars down, and to cope with the cars that leave the track..... and tarmac is usually more effective at slowing cars down that grass or gravel.

When the gravel is effective at slowing the car down, it often means a beached car and laps behind the safety car while it's being removed. And who wants to see that?

But I don't like seeing drivers using the run off areas as part of the track either.

I think StickShift has the right idea.... grass run-off then tarmac to slow the car, so that you can go there without the beached car syndrome, but there is a substantial time penalty for doing so.

[Gt_R]

I'd say...what run-offs? Line Spa with concrete walls.

[Morris 1100]

Line it with trees like it used to be.
They used to pass each other then as well!

[jj2728]

and while we're at it restore the track to its original 8.76 mile length...let's see how this current crop handles the masta kink....

[Paarma]

I agree that run off areas should not serve as extentions to the track. More hostile curbs should do the job though.

[T0MAT01]

(Originally posted by falcemob)
I prefer to see the cars racing than sitting on the side of the track so maybe there should just be some form of time penalty for crossing the boundries.

Maybe falcemob has a point, a drive-through penalty when all four wheels are over the line?

[Bleu]

Originally posted by Paarma
I agree that run off areas should not serve as extentions to the track. More hostile curbs should do the job though.

I agree. I think they should have about 10 metres grass and then tarmac so drivers wouldn't use run-off as a part of the track. In Austria 2003 they did just that in the first corner.

[429CJ]

Grass and asphalt run off areas?????
And then we might see fatal roll-over accidents like that of Greg Moore, no, thank you!