Ulmenberg is a permanent racetrack located in the Bavarian Alps, southeast of Munich near Rosenheim. It hosts the OtherWorld(ly)Series' German Grand Prix. Track length is 3.8 kilometers.
Track history:
Built as an oval by local car manufacturer BMW in the 1950s, the track was used as a test track for road cars until the mid-1970s when the it became disused. During the mid-1980s, still owned by BMW, a reconstruction proposal was made to attract a Formula 1 race, but
the application for that was beaten by the new Nürburgring. In the late 1980s, the remains of the track that were pretty rundown at the time, were sold to a committee consisting in part of organisers of the OtherWorld(ly)Series. In turn, the new owners rebuilt the track as a road course that is based on the oval layout, kind of like a roval, like the original reconstruction proposal had outlined. On from 1989, it has hosted that series' German Grand Prix. The only things that have been left in as part of the reconstructed circuit from the initial 2 1/4 mile oval are the start-finish straight, the 180 degree Turn 1 that has a mild 5 degree banking, and a relatively short piece of the oval's back-straight. The wall surrounding the track had been removed in several places to gain runoff space, but not so in Turn 1, making it probably the most dangerous corner in the current OtherWorld(ly) Series calendar. And finally, the 2nd 180 degree banked turn, that was banked much higher than the one which was left in, has not been deconstructed, but is part of the parking lot now. I first drew this track in one of my initial sessions in 1991, when I wanted a really fast track. It may be considered a little boring by today's standards, but fast it is.
Here's the track map:
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...g/656318c2.jpg
Lap description:
Ulmenberg runs anticlockwise. As the track was developed from a 2 1/4 mile oval with two 180 degree banked turns, the track shows no significant changes in altitude. It is probably the fastest track on the OtherWorld(ly) Series calendar, since the roval type layout doesn't stay far away from the underlying oval. The location of the track in the north of the Alps mountains means that cars racing on it are sometimes exposed to a special weather condition, a downslope wind they call 'Foehn', that can confuse cars' aerodynamical setup come race day, because it blows down from above with a steep angle. This wind can make racing on a highspeed circuit like this one quite difficult, especially when the weather conditions change on race day and there is no more time left for setup changes.
Having gone down the start-finish straight full throttle, cars turn left into Turn 1 that consists of the original oval-turn 1, which tightens in radius at around three quarters into it, leading cars into the infield section. That's also where the 2nd apex of Turn 1 is located. Turn 1 is 7th gear all the way, with drivers lifting a little as the corner is at its tightest, but it's quite difficult to get the fastest line through it. If you choose a wrong line or don't have that much courage, it means you might need to go back to 6th gear and that costs some valuable time as the lap is relatively short. Next is the backstraight, leading into the infield of the oval, that ends at the wide right-hander Turn 2 (5th gear), that goes around near 90 degrees. The radius of Turn 2 closes in only slightly as the corner progresses. After another straight bit, there follows a wide left-hander, Turn 3 (6th gear accelerating), which leads cars back onto the original oval. The next corner, Turn 4, a quick left hander in 5th gear (but only 4th gear for some) is fast approaching, which leads cars off of the original oval and onto another straight, bypassing the former 2nd banked turn. At the end of that, there is Turn 6 (4th gear, but 3rd gear if it's two cars that need to fit through), that's both the tightest and the final corner of the track.
When it comes to overtaking under braking, there is only the final corner that allows for it, but this track is famous for the many slipstreaming duels that have taken place here over the years, many of which have been decided in Turn 1 or Turn 2 as well. Since the use of speedway kits is not prohibited, some teams arrive here with parts from special equipment for ovals on their cars, whilst others prefer genuine road setups.