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10-29-2007, 04:51 AM
(This post was last modified: 10-29-2007, 04:53 AM by Phokaioglaukos.)
I did a track walk Saturday afternoon. As has been widely reported, the curbing has been largely paved over and the track is very smooth and grippy, even when wet. In real rain there are some drainage issues with puddles forming and persisting, particularly off line entering T10.
What surprised me was that they paved everywhere there was pavement, even places where the old 1999 pavement was rotten with vegetation poking through. That leads to some real oddities. For example, the track widens about 18" on the left about 4/5ths of the way to T1, but then before my turn in point narrows before the access road. Before T3 there is an unnecessary widening on the right before the access road (but not connecting to the access road!) on the right and by the black flag station just before T4 there is similar widening, for a short stretch, on the left. Not all of the curbing has been paved over, but where it could bite is in T3 where the drop off to gravel is not as easy to see. Rumor is that the curbs will be painted back in, but I do not expect that before spring.
Where the concrete patches were in T1 and T5 particularly there is now fresh asphalt with sealant on top of it. The sealant is supposed to stop water infiltration which, when it freezes, could lift the asphalt off the concrete. We'll see in the spring how that worked. Between T3 and T4 there was water percolating through the the pavement, but it had rained a LOT on Friday and Saturday morning.
The brake markers in T1 are gone, but if you look closely there are lots of "E"s painted on the track at turn-in points. Good luck seeing them at speed, though.
The dirt on the side of the track is not compacted and turned to a very slippery mud in the wet. My foot sank a good 3" and a dropped wheel will stick a car at low speed. A car went off in T8 and attempted to drive straight onto the track. No go! Had the driver stayed on the grass more and entered the track at a shallow angle it probably would have worked.
No question about it, the track is better!
What surprised me was that they paved everywhere there was pavement, even places where the old 1999 pavement was rotten with vegetation poking through. That leads to some real oddities. For example, the track widens about 18" on the left about 4/5ths of the way to T1, but then before my turn in point narrows before the access road. Before T3 there is an unnecessary widening on the right before the access road (but not connecting to the access road!) on the right and by the black flag station just before T4 there is similar widening, for a short stretch, on the left. Not all of the curbing has been paved over, but where it could bite is in T3 where the drop off to gravel is not as easy to see. Rumor is that the curbs will be painted back in, but I do not expect that before spring.
Where the concrete patches were in T1 and T5 particularly there is now fresh asphalt with sealant on top of it. The sealant is supposed to stop water infiltration which, when it freezes, could lift the asphalt off the concrete. We'll see in the spring how that worked. Between T3 and T4 there was water percolating through the the pavement, but it had rained a LOT on Friday and Saturday morning.
The brake markers in T1 are gone, but if you look closely there are lots of "E"s painted on the track at turn-in points. Good luck seeing them at speed, though.
The dirt on the side of the track is not compacted and turned to a very slippery mud in the wet. My foot sank a good 3" and a dropped wheel will stick a car at low speed. A car went off in T8 and attempted to drive straight onto the track. No go! Had the driver stayed on the grass more and entered the track at a shallow angle it probably would have worked.
No question about it, the track is better!
Chris
981 GT4
996 GT3 Cup
911 Carrera Sport Coupe
PCA Nationally Trained DE Instructor #200810247
Genesee Valley BMW CCA Instructor
981 GT4
996 GT3 Cup
911 Carrera Sport Coupe
PCA Nationally Trained DE Instructor #200810247
Genesee Valley BMW CCA Instructor