handy?

 

Here's Rennie Clayton's complete post from the DSR forum:

Sears Point is like our own private Mid-Ohio out here on the West Coast. While Sears lacks many of the quirky surface details of Mid-Ohio (which have since been ground away anyway), setups for each of the tracks is an exact match between the two, for me and my driving anyway. And since the track is literally 30 minutes away from our shop, that's a damn fine bit of serendipity!

Alas, they don't actually open the track up for testing much, so you guys that were thinking that gives me an unfair advantage can sit back down!

Here's how the place looks on a track map:
<img src="http://www.rennieclayton.com/DSRForum/2004GeneralMap.lg.gif">


Turn 10
Why: Fast, fast, fast... Taken flat in top gear in an Atlantic. Some pretty severe pucker factor here with the retaining wall on the outside of the corner. How: This is not a corner to be taken lightly at speed, there is a bit of a drop-off at exit, so your car must be right! Otherwise, there is no special technique other than to keep your foot in it.

Turn 6
Why: A difficult corner to get right, especially the entry, causing you to lose precious momentum going up the hill to turn 7. How: Have to stay a full car-width off the right edge on entry to avoid some monstrous bumps. The tricky part is that the entry of the corner is the crest of a hill... so you're potentially trying to turn and slow down as you're already having weight transferred forward by going downhill. Best bet is to slow a bit before getting to the crest, and do your best to start accelerating soon after you cross the ridge as the car will have a tendency to be wobbly on entry.

Turn 8a
Why: Again, this is another one that should be taken flat in an Atlantic. It's quicker than 6, but followed by a downhill section that helps you gain back lost speed, so not quite as critical. Still and all, in an Atlantic you should be flat from the exit of 7a all the way down to the hairpin, so don't screw it up... How: The apex here is deceivingly early because the corner opens up on exit. The key is to do a very late apex on 8 (which is almost a non-corner anyway) to set yourself up for 8a.

Turn 1a
Why: Turn 1 as marked on the map is not really a turn. What I'm calling 1a is really the lefthander between 1 and 2 on the map - that's the important one, because it's off-camber and going up a hill. How: You're looking for a middle of the road apex and carry as much speed up the hill as you can manage without flying off the road, sacrificing a "perfect" left-side hugging entry into turn 2.

Turn 3a
Why: Nothing spectacular about this one, but it's a bloody fast corner that appears anything but when you first encounter it. How: Line is difficult, and the corner has a tendency to throw you off on the exit curbing. Aim for an apex just past the visible crest of the hill as you enter, this will ensure that you're going across the hill fairly straight. Oh, and do try not to lift.

Turn 3
Why: Marvelous little corner that is deceptively quick. Most folks downshift here, where I'm usually tapping the brakes and back down to the floor. How: The entry dips downhill at fist, then shoots you uphill just prior to the apex, loading the car up. It's like free downforce!

Turn 7 / 7a
Why: Here's the downturn in importance... How: Since it's a double apex turn, it doesn't really force you to choose which end to sacrifice. Stuff it into the entry, let it go wide and rotate for a good run out of the exit.

Turn 2
Why: This corner, like much of the track, is actually quicker than most give it credit for; it's all a question of line. How: It makes your car oversteer fiercely on exit, so you're actually doing yourself a favor by sacrificing the entry and making a bee-line to the apex. Just try not to be steering much by the time you reach the apex, and be on the throttle early but lightly to keep some weight transfer going to the rear.

Turn 4
Why: Honestly, the most boring part of the race track to me. Not really enough track space or time to make a good run on somebody (at my speeds anyway), it's a gratuitously slow corner. I would much rather they turned this into a big sweeper like 6, now that would be fun. How: This is a standard boulevard 90 degree corner - brake, turn-in, accelerate.

Turn 11
Why: I always find this to be one of the neater corners, mainly because with the "painted on the asphalt" curbing, I get to feel very European by really clobbering the curbs. How: I personally don't late apex this turn (much) because the corner is preceeded by a longer straight than follows it, so I like carrying more speed on entry and getting a lower elapsed time through the sector. I end up doing a more or less parabolic line, but don't over-do that.


That's all nice and colourful, but what's it look like to do all that in a lap?
Glad you asked... here's the much-anticipated video of a sub-track-record lap with me behind the wheel of the Atlantic. This lap was recorded on our PI system as a 1:28.8 second lap, while the qualifying and race records here are 1:29.4 and 1:29.8, respectively. Those of you with a keen eye for detail should be able to see what kind of handling this car exhibits, and what I'm doing behind the wheel to compensate for it... The obvious caveat being that there's plenty of time left at this race track for me.


Enjoy,
Ren


This is a 6.3MB Windows Media file.

 

Thanks, exactly what I was thinking of, though I wasn't expecting track notes!