Where Can I Find Track Maps ??

[George3]

I have some track maps of the courses we run in my files, but not all of them.  I like to study them before, during and after each event.

I was wondering if there was a website or service that offers Track Maps available for downloading. 

Thanks

[Darren]

http://www.trackpedia.com

[George3]

Darren,

Thanks for the link.  I was on that site but couldn't find Pocono North.  Sometimes they only show the entire track or another section of the track.  Speciifically, any Pocono North links you are aware of?

[Darren]

Oh, hmm, yeah that needs to be updated....I'll have to see if I can add it to Trackpedia.

Jack's video is good:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1008283155144657843&hl=en

Here is another one of me chasing Kenny last year (60 seconds):

http://tinyurl.com/5rn93t

I don't know where a turn-by-turn analysis is but we can make one here and talk about it.

[Darren]

Here’s my brain dump on Pocono North.  Comments/corrections welcomed 

 Pit-Out:

Use British rules pulling out from the paddock into the pit-out area -- stay on the left side of the road so that cars entering the track and those leaving the track don’t have to criss-cross each other.

The Bowl:

The first section of the course is the curving bowl.  It’s intimidating because of the huge camber and the bumpiness!  It gives you an appreciation for the NASCAR boys!  This section is really a straight-away, so it’s flat out the whole way down to the braking zone for T1.

There are a couple of different lines people run here – most seem to follow the big white dots that are painted on the track surface.  I generally like to get down tight and follow the shortest distance radius I can.  It can get bumpy though, so you may have to adjust your line to be off the bumpiness.  From the video I linked you can see that Kenny is a good 12 car lengths in front of me but we are tight on the inside at the same time.

There is also a "slingshot" line through here that some people use for low HP cars.  I don't know that it works, I want to play with it next event in the Acura.

After you pass the natural apex of the line you are taking through the bowl, start opening up the wheel and allow the car to flow to the wall.  There are many boogers close to the wall so stay off of them.

As you approach T1 you will be going very fast.  T1 is the most fun AND the scariest part of the course!  The good news is that there is an easy escape route – if you are in any doubt about whether you have slowed down enough, just drive straight following the NASCAR course.  Always know your escape routes especially at the end of the straights!

You don’t want to go 2 wheels off trying to make the turn because there is a severe drop-off at the track-out of T1 that will likely get the car off the ground and could end up causing a roll.

T1:

T1 is very fast done correctly.  If you do it right, you know you did it right because you have trouble getting the car straight for the braking zone for T2.  Obviously you should gradually work up to speed, this is not a place for a mistake!

T2:

This is a late apex uphill turn.  The turn-in point is right at the end of the white curbing.  I get the car in tight and hug the curbing around the inside.  If you do it correctly your momentum will cause you to use the entire track exiting the turn.  There is some white curbing on the outside there that I generally hit.

T3:

This is a left hand down hill turn with not much camber.  The turn in is a little late and doing it correctly will carry you all the way out to track right at the exit.  If your car pushes you will really see that here, so you may need to slow down more than you’d expect to stay on line.  Again, use all of the track on exit, it looks like I used a little more than that in my video

T4:

There are a couple approaches to this turn that I’ve seen from different people.  I try to make it the largest radius I can, so I'm track left and turn the wheel and keep a constant angle through the turn.  I keep the left side (loaded wheels) on the concrete – that’s why the concrete is there of course, everyone drives there J.  I add as much throttle as I can through here, this section is deceivingly fast and the place where I think many people give up time on this course.  There IS a guardrail at the track out only 10 feet or so from the track, so it is a little scary.

T5:

As you come out of T4 there is a white dot on the track surface that I hit with my left front tire.  That tire placement is really the key to this section and a good reference point for your line.  You don’t want to be track right going into this turn – the white dot puts you at about the middle of the track.  The apex is in the curbed area as you would expect.  This area again requires a constant angle on the wheel all the way down to the braking zone before the bowl -- that’s how you know you have done it correctly.  It is also very fast, I can almost go flat to the floor around the turn in my 996.  You have to be smooth though.

T6 – re-entry to the bowl:

This is a slow turn where a lot of people spin -- don't pinch it off and make sure to open up the wheel past the apex.  There is a dip at the apex that makes it just that much more exciting.  Brake hard over the bumps before turning in.  You definitely want to be doing straight-line braking here.  At the turn exit drift all the way out to the wall.  In the video I was aiming for the end of the black painted sign on the wall – not sure if that is always there.  This part is fun and in my Acura I like to see if I can almost touch the wall.

[George3]

T2:

This is a late apex uphill turn.  The turn-in point is right at the end of the white curbing.  I get the car in tight and hug the curbing around the inside.  If you do it correctly your momentum will cause you to use the entire track exiting the turn.  There is some white curbing on the outside there that I generally hit.


Do you, or should you, get any rotation in T2 with the late apex?

[George3]

T5:

As you come out of T4 there is a white dot on the track surface that I hit with my left front tire.  That tire placement is really the key to this section and a good reference point for your line.  You don’t want to be track right going into this turn – the white dot puts you at about the middle of the track.  The apex is in the curbed area as you would expect.  This area again requires a constant angle on the wheel all the way down to the braking zone before the bowl -- that’s how you know you have done it correctly.  It is also very fast, I can almost go flat to the floor around the turn in my 996.  You have to be smooth though.


Also, in T5 when I'm coming in a little hot, I breath off the throttle to get the car pointed in the right direction.  Is this a good method?

[Darren]

People use that term "rotation" differently, so I'm not really sure what you mean.  I'm running at a fairly high slip angle there but I'm not sliding for sure.  I want to carry as much speed out of that turn as I can because the straight-away between 2-3 is very important.

[George3]

Not sure of the correct terminology, maybe rotation is not the right word.  But slightly lifting off the throttle through the corner to get the rear end out a little and the nose pointing straight to the next turn.  Hope that's clearer.

[Darren]

Ok, so I guess I would call that lift-oversteer.  I think that is really a way that people use to compensate for an ill-handling car, specifically a car that understeers.  I'd much rather see someone take the turn a little slower than lifting in the turn.

It might get the back end to move by lifting but you are unsettling the car in order to do so.   Think about the weight transfer (fore-aft), its:

Braking -- weight shifts forward

Turn -- weight shifts more middle

Lift to hit apex -- weight shifts forward

Accellerate -- weight shifts rear

It's just too much back and forth of the weight transfer.  The alternative of just taking it slower is much better -- you are shifting the weight forward, and then gradually bringing it back to rear as you exit the turn.

Of course I'm simplifying a little -- there is also lateral weight transfer.

Weight transfer is very important and is one of the things we all learn in DE.  If I were you I'd practice taking the turns where you understeer slower and then eventually looking to correct the understeer of the car through alignment, etc...  Don't change anything yet though -- driving fast with the understeer is important to learn also!

Are you still driving a Boxster?