Opening my archive

[Yannick]

Fahdelberg is a permanent racetrack, a few kilometers south of Stuttgart in Germany. Its length is 4.9 kilometers.
The main reason for not including this track in my season, is that the OtherWorld(ly) Series already had a German Grand Prix at Ulmenberg and a mock-European Grand Prix on German territory, too, in form of the Grand Prix of Atozeeland at Abiszettstadt. So there really was no way to justify a 3rd race in Germany.

Track history:
The Rennstrecke Fahdelberg was constructed in the mid 1980s and competed with the new Nürburgring to become the German venue of the European Grand Prix of Formula 1 back then. But, as history has shown, to no avail. Instead, the track has hosted mainly motorbike races of all categories over the years, occasional touring car races like DTM or STW and even lower touring car categories, German Formula 3, and has been used extensively by Porsche as a testing facility for their sportscars and road cars, too. Thanks to Porsche, who had rented the track for a 10 year stretch until 2001, there was no racing held at all during that time, but in return, the manufacturer kept the track up to FIA Grade 1 standards, so that different local motorbike series returned in 2002. A Porsche Supercup race is unfortunately out of the question, though, because that series is linked to Formula 1 as a support act, so the track isn't used much at the moment. I first drew this track during my first sessions in 1991, like so many I've already posted in this archive thread. The version below is a recent redrawing from memory, which sticks close to the original blot shape.

Here's the track map:
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...g/e99c67bd.jpg

Lap description:
Fahdelberg runs anticlockwise. As with almost every track, the lap begins on the start-finish straight, that is about flat in altitude in the place where the pit complex and paddock are located. But at about half of the length of the straight, the track suddenly kinks mildly to going only slightly uphill. Engineers need to set up their cars well to avoid bottoming here. The 1st corner, the right-hand bow Turn 1 (6th gear, 7th gear for some) has a crest at its apex, on from which the track dips down moderately, until the 1st apex of Turn 2, which is right about where the gravel trap for Turn 2 begins. On from there, the track rises again moderately all the way through Turn 2, which is a parabolica-shaped corner that's closing in, and is taken at 4th gear at its tightest. The short straight between Turn 2 and Turn 3 is leading only slightly uphill, until at its end, the altitude of Turn 1 is equalled at yet another mild crest, right behind which Turn 3 (4th gear and accelerating) begins, a parabolica-shaped corner that's opening up. During the course of Turn 3, the altitude level fades out to being flat again for quite a while. After the final apex of Turn 3, drivers tip on the brakes for the constant radius 180 degree left hander Turn 4 (4th gear), which is mildly cambered. At half distance into Turn 4, the first sector times are being taken.
After an even shorter straight than the one before, there is a combination of two 90 degree corners up next: the right-hander Turn 5 (3rd gear) is the faster one of them, and the left-hander Turn 6 (2nd gear) is the slower and tighter one of them. The purpose of this section is to slow down vehicles in the run-up to the long backstraight that's coming up next, to enable close slipstreaming duels at its end. The backstraight is leading slightly uphill again at a constant angle, with the track continuing in this fashion for a short while. After the speed trap, the straight ends at the chicane, consisting of Turns 7 and 8, both taken in 2nd gear, making it THE place to overtake on this track.
At the entry of the left-hander Turn 9 (3rd gear, 4th for some), the overall highpoint of circuit altitude has been reached. The first hairpin, the left-hander Turn 10 that follows shortly thereafter, leads steeply downward in a serpentine fashion, and is taken in 2nd gear. The altitude decrease fades out onto the subsequent right-hand bow to a moderate level of decrease, which steepens again abruptly going into the 2nd hairpin, Turn 11 (2nd gear, too, 3rd for some) and after that corner, fades out onto the long bow that comes after it until flat altitude is reached near the entry of the optional chicane. That chicane was built during the circuit's days as a test track and isn't seriously considered for racing.Bypassing the optional chicane, nicknamed the clown's nose, creates another overtaking opportunity at the end of the bow, albeit a tricky one, because there are multiple lines through the final section of corners on this track. That's why I can only give recommendations for your gearshifts through Turn 12 (3rd or 4th gear) and the final corner, Turn 13 (4th or 3rd gear respectively) that closes in on exit. Crossing the s/f-line, that was a lap of Fahdelberg. For spectators, the places to be are of course on top of the crest that goes through the middle of Turn 1 and the entry of Turn 3, and at the end of the backstraight, overlooking the whole of it.

Only recently, I've considered moving the 2nd hairpin, Turn 11 further into the infield in a bowish kind of way, to widen the corner itself and introduce a stadium section in the middle of the track. What do you think about this idea?
Thanks for reading.

[ScotsBrutesFan]

I can see what your trying to do, but having only one overtaking point on the circuit really inhibits the racing on it. As for the second "half chance" of an overtake at T12...it would be way to easily defended and a very wild lunge would completely comprimise T13 and the exit onto the straight.

[Tathrim]

Hmmm.... flows well, but 1) the top left section is mickey mouse-ish and 2) there is only one feasable overtaking place.

[Yannick]

So here's the outcome of the reasoning on the La Vonoye circuit on the "other" thread (in a few seconds).

[Yannick]

La Vonoye is a permanent road circuit in the North of France, near Lille. Its length is 5.5 kilometers. You can view it here:
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...g/619f0ca0.jpg

The graphic above is the definitive version of La Vonoye. One of the main reasons why the track wasn't part of the OtherWorld(ly) Series is that I didn't have a drawing of it handy at the time that I posted the series. Later, I redraw it from memory, but wasn't really confident with the result. Luckily, I found an old drawing of it, which I posted on my "tracks in development" thread, and then I had another go at it, which you can see here.
Other reasons for not including this track in the OtherWorld(ly) Series are:
-when I first drew this track in 1992, I had intended it as a Mickey-Mouse-Circuit, and I guess that still shows, despite the changes of some corner shapes.
-I have quite a lot of French tracks in my archive (because I never really liked Magny-Cours). And only one can host the French Grand Prix. This one isn't it.

Lap description:
The track runs clockwise. Unsurprisingly beginning nowhere else than on the start-finish straight, which is flat in altitude. The track then begins to decrease slightly in the right-hand bow at the end of the straight, and cars pass the speed trap, before braking for the sharp and tight right-hander Turn 1 (2nd gear). This one is quite reminiscent of the current first corner of the Nürburgring Grand Prix track, and it's La Vonoye's first and most popular overtaking opportunity. Up next is an almost 180 degree left-hander, that leads moderately downhill, beginning from its entry and fades out again towards a short, flat straight on exit. This is Turn 2, and it's taken in 2nd gear while accelerating so you can shift up to 3rd right after it. (This section is comparable to a section of Aida that comes after the hairpin, but not exactly, because there, it is made up of two corners.) Another difference to Aida is that there you must break again hard at the end of the short straight, whilst here, Turn 3 is a multi-apex left-hander to be taken in 4th gear, which on from about half into it, leads slightly uphill towards the next corner. (I've found this to be comparable to the first half of the Esse that comes before the backstraight at Circuit de Catalunya.) But somewhere near the last apex of Turn 3, you must break and shift down to 3rd gear for the right-hander Turn 4, enabling the cars behind you to get a bit closer. Continuing slightly uphill along the 2nd-longest straight of the circuit, the highest point of the track is reached at the plateau, which begins in the braking zone of the hairpin at the end of the straight. This 180 degree right-hander, also known as Turn 5, is taken in 1st gear, and it is pretty tight, making it the 2nd overtaking opportunity of choice. After it, there follows a section of two tight 90 degree corners, to keep velocities slow for spectators to watch, Turn 6 and Turn 7, both again in 2nd gear. That's it, as far as the plateau goes, and on from here, the track descends in a mild manner, leading through La Vonoye's most characteristic corner, the long-winding and fast left-hand bow that is slightly reversely cambered in its first third, turning to increasing positive camber whilst closing in during its second half, called Turn 8, or the Grand Bow (7th gear, maybe 6th in the latter part). The bow dips at its southernmost point, on from where the track leads moderately uphill for a short while in the braking zone for the right-hander Turn 9 (2nd or 3rd gear). But at the entry to Turn 9, which is still reversely cambered a bit, the track falls away, being quite steep at the corner's apex, which is positively cambered again, and then fading out on exit into only a slight descent on the next short straight. It's a challenge to overtake in Turn 9, so most drivers spare their energies for attempts in other places of the circuit, where it's easier to do. The overall lowpoint of the track is reached at the apex of the fast, bowish right-hander, Turn 10 (6th gear accelerating), which, together with the subsequent straight that leads slightly uphill, makes up the 3rd longest full-throttle passage on the circuit.
That one ends at the tight right hander, Turn 11 (2nd gear again). You can lap backmarkers easily in Turn 11, but the big question is, whether the straight before was long enough to try to outbreak an opponent in front of you. Still, for lower formulae, this shouldn't be a problem.
As the track continues its only slight uphill climb, you go around the left-hander Turn 12, accelerating. After that, there follows a straight which leads toward the Esses. Turn 13 (4th gear) is the left-hand part of the Esses, and the 2nd and slower part of them is the right-hander Turn 14 (3rd gear). As you accelerate out of Turn 14, the track experiences a steep climb from 1/3 to 2/3 into the straight, after which the plateau of the pit and paddock complex is reached. There follows another section of 90 degree corners, the right-hander Turn 15 (3rd gear), which is again good for lapping, but definitely no overtaking point, and the left-hander behind the paddock, Turn 16 (either 3rd or 2nd gear). And on from here, the goal is to build up speed again for the main straight, as cars accelerate, going round the final right-hand corner of the track, Turn 17.
Recommended grandstands are the main stands in front of the pits, the one overlooking Turn 1 and Turn 4, from which you can see the whole of the stadium complex, the ones on both sides of the hairpin, from which you can see the whole of the hairpin plateau plus the subsequent straight, the stand on the exit of the steep downhill Turn 9, and the one on the southern side of the Esses, where you can watch the cars run away up the steep climb on the next straight, too. Of course, even more spectators fit into the house, in places like the infield stadium of Turn 2 and Turn 3, and the stand at Turn 11, plus all the general admission areas on both sides of the Grand Bow (Turn 8), on the entry of Turn 10 looking uphill towards Turn 9, on the infield side of the Esses, and on the outside of the paddock plateau, surrounding the final few corners.

Track history:
There hasn't been much history really, though the track has been around since the early 1990s. French Formula 3, Formula Renault, Renault World Series, sportscars, national and European motorbike series and European truck racing are all regulars here. The track is known for its 24 hours motorbike event. Currently, there are negotiations for a GP Masters race underway, so let's see how that turns out. Apart from that, even the OtherWorld(ly) Series never came here, preferring instead to go to the more highspeed tracks like Divoea or the Circuit De L'Île (also to be visited in this thread). Some of the grandstands were only built later, when the circuit had already proven to be a success, and the demand for more seats was there, like the stadium stands in the infield at Turns 2 and 3. And in late 1994, runoff was increased significantly in some corners, among them being the Grand Bow, Turn 8.

[kivipallur92]

It seems that you have edited this track :

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...g/89a6a1d3.jpg

and you have made a great job , but the upper left part is a bit angular.But still, well done.

[V8_TURBO]

It does, but it works well I think.

[Yannick]

Thanks for the kudos, kivipallur92 and V8_TURBO.

Yes, indeed, this definitve version of La Vonoye is an edit of a previous version of the track. I'm happy that you haven't said anything about it being too Mickey-Mousey.

For quite a while now, I have the feeling that people tend to not read my track descriptions because of their length. I still have three tracks queued up for posting with descriptions, but with time being of essence for writing descriptions, I feel I shouldn't do it anymore to the extent that I have so far. Would more people read my track descriptions if they were shorter? What do you think?

Anyway, in a few seconds, here comes the next "outtake" in a few seconds, reducing the number of those in the queue to two.

[Yannick]

Duckham, named after and sponsored by the oil company, is located near Duckburg and is therefore yet another permanent racetrack in the Walt Disney Universe. As I already mentioned, I was keen on the Ducks when I first started drawing tracks, and I don't want to hide this fact because these tracks need some backstory to be written about. Still, this one is a bit weird. Duckham was built by Scrooge McDuck to run his own series on, because he didn't get along well with the owners of the major Grand Prix circuit in his home country (which in this case would be the Duckburg circuit). So, in turn, in typical Scrooge McDuck fashion, he hired only the cheapest track designers and architects to come up with this design, and bought some cheap swamp land to build it on. That's why it is no wonder this track is so spectacularly unspectacular. The only thing that makes it stand out in a way is that it has not one but four crossovers. The repetitiveness of corner shapes and parallelity of the straights clearly show that the track designers, who were hired by Scrooge weren't paid enough to develop something more interesting.
I first drew this track in about 1992 when I tried to include as many crossovers into one single track as could reasonably fit.
The main reason why Duckham wasn't part of the OtherWorld(ly) Series is not that it's in a different Universe, nor that Scrooge McDuck would charge too much to allow an event there, but that I don't really like the design anymore. It kind of reminds me of 'Divine Raceway' by fellow mytracks designer martin-1 and all its angular glory.

Track history:
As I don't really care about Scrooge McDuck's motor racing series, nor his car brand or whatever anymore, I don't know much about this track's history, apart from that it was built in the early 1990s, that it is eligible to host F1 races, too, and that every series in which a Scrooge McDuck car brand works team competed, has raced here at least once. One thing is significant though: Scrooge McDuck regulary gets money from the oil company to whom he has leased the name rights of the track.
And Scrooge McDuck's own car manufacturing company had to use this track exclusively as a testing facility for most of their road cars, to save money that would have been spent on other test tracks. Maybe that's why their handling is as bad on less repetetive terrain.

Plese bear in mind that the track map shown under the following link is a really old drawing from the mid 1990s that was done with a pen. So I must apologise for the many drawing errors. Still, I don't really want to waste my time on redrawing this repetitive beast, because I think even this old drawing brings across the concept of the track fairly well.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...g/1c8f2cb0.jpg

Lap description:
As it was built in a former swampland area, there is not much elevation change going on around the 5.7 kilometers of the Duckham circuit. The lap begins in a counterclockwise direction on the start-finish line. Cars then head down the start-finish straight, a straight which is reprised in length not only once, but a full four times. Turn 1 is a relatively quick 180 degree left-hander that's taken in 4th gear or 5th gear, depending on the quality of your car's handling. After that, the first carbon copy of the main straight follows, and the track begins to rise moderately on the run-up to the 1st crossover. You can't see the crossover yet, because of the blind crest that comes before it. After the crest, the crossover follows immediately, and the track altitude fades back slowly to level on the run-down from the bridge. At the end of the straight, there is Turn 2, a 180 degree right-hander that's just the same as Turn 1, albeit in exactly the other direction.
After that, the next straight follows, again with an equal crest just before the 2nd crossover. And at the straight's end, there is Turn 3, an exact copy of Turn 1. The straight between Turns 2 and 3 is repeated next, with the 3rd crossover coming shortly after the crest in the run-up. At the end of the straight, there is the carbon copy of Turn 2, called Turn 4. By this time, the track becomes boring if there is no traffic. Just as expected, another run-up to another small crest is next, but hey, what's that behind the crest? A 90 degree left-hander, Turn 5 (4th gear). You can try overtaking under braking here, but if you haven't made it past your opponent in one of the previous corners, chances are that you don't make it here either, since the straight leading up to Turn 5 is only about half as long as the other straights. Up next is another straight, that's slightly kinked to the right. The kink, Turn 6 is not felt at all in speed, but the subsequent hairpin, Turn 7 (1st gear, 2nd gear for some) surely is. This is not an overtaking spot, because the straight leading up to it was rather short. After the hairpin, you accelerate through the right-hander Turn 8 onto a straight with the length of about half of Duckham's standard straight. And then it's back to the scheme for your average quick 180 degree left-hander (this time it's Turn 9), after which, surprise surprise no surprise, there follows a straight, running up towards a crest just before the 4th crossover is due, which is actually the first time you're crossing this very same lap. And at the end of the straight, Turn 10 awaits you with its well known franchised design. Having gone through that, things get a bit more interesting again, but only a bit, as after the crest in the straight, there follows a copy of Turn 5 in form of Turn 11 (4th gear), another 90 degree left-hander. The next straight, which is not your standard straight, is absolutely flat in altitude and lets you pass through under the other 3 bridges that you have only seen from above on this lap. At the end of that straight, the chicane at the back of the paddock awaits you. It is a mean, tight right-left-right combination in 2nd gear, and it has a clear overtaking opportunity in its braking zone, too. That chicane was introduced during 1994 for safety reasons, because of lacking runoff in the former paddock bend, which used to be the track's only 90 degree right-hander, Turn 12. Up next is the shorter version of straights that comes along here for the 3rd time on one lap. The final corner, at its end, is once more, a 180 degree left-hander, but this time around, the corner's radius is not as big as the standard type curve, so the final Turn 13 is tighter and can be taken only in 3rd gear or 4th gear for some, if we take into account 7 gears in total. Now that you are around it, I know you can't wait to do it again, because Scrooge McDuck is contracted to pay you a standard amount fee as salary of every full lap you have completed in a race.
And yes, that is necessary, because the lap may flow well, but is really boring as well.

An aside:
This circuit is famous for luring drivers, who are having a rather lonely race, like when you're leading a race all the way from the start, and are all alone far out in front, into making silly mistakes. The repetitiveness of the 'corner - straight - almost the same corner - parallel straight - etc.' combinations that dominate the track layout is what causes this effect. When it happens, a driver either suddenly slows down just before the 2nd bridge, expecting a 90 degree corner behind the crest, or what's much worse, drivers heading straight on in Turn 5 or Turn 11, expecting the straight to continue after the crest. Such an accident even was a championship decider once during a Duck series race in the early 1990s.

[Tathrim]

Hmmm... yes, it is repetitive, but, I feel this is the point of this circuit. And, oddly, I like this track, simply because of the repetitiveness. Well done!

[ScotsBrutesFan]

The circuit could be easily changed so that the each loop was a different type of turn while maintaining the idea of criss-crossing over.

[jab]

It's Caesars Palace on acid

Yes, it's very repetitive, boring etc, but isn't that the point? Plus it looks good for overtaking

[Yannick]

@Tathrim: Thanks for the kudos.

@SBF: Yes, it could be changed. Still, I think it's OK that the track shows that I was at a lack of ideas at the time I drew it, so I'll keep it like it is.

@jab: Your comment had me rolling on the floor laughing. Thanks for that.

The next track, 2nd last in the current queue, is to be posted in a few seconds. Have a nice weekend, Merry Xmas, Happy New Year, CUlater.

[Yannick]

Every track designer's dream would be to have a nonpermanent street circuit running through their hometown,
and I don't make an exception here. In fact, this time around, I'm going to show you my Hometown Circuit.
Hometown is located in Germany in a rural area near the Czech border, and its name shall not be mentioned as of yet. Track length is 4.8 kilometers.

Main reasons to not include the Hometown track in the OtherWorld(ly) Series are:
-I wanted to post a drawing of the track, too, and not just a G-Map-Pedometer picture, and I would have had to redraw it. Now recently, I found an old drawing of it in a box.
-There is already a German Grand Prix in the Series (Ulmenberg)
-There are not enough hotel rooms in the area for all the team members, much less for all the expected spectators.

Still, there is an (obviously fake) track history:
The OtherWorld(ly) Series was here on the Hometown track twice: In 1997 and 1998, but on their first outing, they found that the steep downhill section from The Sheds to Castle corner needed resurfacing really badly, and complained. Still, the Series returned the next year, only to find that particular part of the track to be in even worse conditions: holes in the tarmac surface, pieces of tarmac lying around on the track and the like. Town officials blamed that on lack of funds, but in fact, they seemed to not want to have the race again, because it has awoken the town from its sleepiness.
A few years later, the town council indeed financed a resurfacing of the section, and with a new mayor in place since this year, racing might well return to this track, well, if competition for the few calendar spots from new economies in the far east isn't too strong.


There are 3 different graphics of the Hometown track:

the old drawing from the 1990s:

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...g/219d8d21.jpg
I've found that in this drawing, the corner shapes are a little exaggerated.
And the start-finish line isn't drawn in the right place, and neither are the sector times lines respectively. Instead of being downtown, the start-finish line should be outside of town, just before the Rock Elisabeth kink, where wrongly, the first sector times line is shown in the drawing. Therefore, Turn 1 is really the 2nd turn on the track, but it's still named Turn 1. The drawing possibly dates back from 1997. Don't worry about the gearshift numbers on the drawing, because they are calculated for a gearshift with only 6 gears. The dotted blue lines are meant to give an indication of the streets beside the track.

the G-Map-Pedometer graphic:

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...g/32cb2dfe.jpg
The start would be in front of the almost invisible Rock Elisabeth kink, where there is a bit of white seen next to the red line.

the Top-50-Viewer screenshot:

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...g/b9b669f9.jpg
I've been lucky to get a copy of an older version of this software in one of my geology courses at university. There is a tiny white cursor arrow in the screenshot just up the hill from the Rock Elisabeth kink, and that's exactly where the start is located. This is also the reference point for the altitude diagram, which runs from left to right along the clockwise track.

[Yannick]

Lap description:
The Hometown Circuit is built exclusively on public roads, so it's only two lane in width with just a tiny part where it's three lane, making it relatively narrow when compared to permanent racetracks of the current day. That and the fact that its nonpermanent nature doesn't allow for much runoff space in the part of the track that's outside of town, and much less in the part that's leading through town, gives sort of an old-timey feel to this track, that is most associated with historical racing.
Leading moderately downhill, the track begins at the start-finish line, on the rundown from White Hill toward the right-hander of the Rock Elisabeth kink, which has both a gravel trap and an escape road, that leads to a village, the name of which translates as Rock Elisabeth. Somewhere after the kink, the braking zone for Turn 1 starts. In a road car, this is taken in 2nd gear, whilst staying on the correct lane, so for a formula race car, Turn 1 would most likely be taken in 3rd gear. This is one of three possible overtaking opportunities under braking on this track, and one which has the benefit of having an escape road that runs straight on. At the apex of Turn 1, track altitude turns to flat, and it's only after the short tunnel underneath the motorway, accelerating through the right-hand Pond Mill corner, where the track begins to rise again moderately. Further accelerating through the left-hander Turn 3 (5th gear accelerating), on the run-up to The Sheds, cars pass the place where the pits are located. In fact, it is the only place on the whole track where there is enough space for a permanent pit and paddock complex, and it's the highest point of the track, too. But at The Sheds (7th gear full), (named after two sheds standing on each side of the road,) whilst the straight is still ongoing, the track suddenly drops steeply downhill towards Castle corner. This is one of the reasons why your car needs almost a rallye setup on this track, because it's possible to jump downhill here at high speed. The landing point would be somewhere near the crossing of Saint Georg Street, making this an interesting spot for spectators. The Castle corner at the bottom of the Sheds hill, and at the top left of the track diagram, is another overtaking opportunity under braking. But its escape road turns away to the left, kind of like at Monaco's Ste-Devote, and it's tighter than Turn 1, so I estimate that formula cars would take it only in 2nd gear. Afterwards, the track goes moderately uphill again along a short straight, entering a residential area through some right-left Esses combination that's equipped with high barriers that are close to the track. The Esses are possibly taken in 4th gear, with the bowish left-hander Roofer's that has a mild crest on its apex and an escape road, taken in 5th gear, before the track dips down underneath the bridge (6th gear) with the motorway on top of it. Continuing at full speed through the residential area, track altitude begins to decrease slightly, on from just before the backside of the soccer field, alongside the Playground (7th gear) until the crossing with Lehmann Street (7th gear still), which should be full of spectators on race day, because it's squeezed in between two parts of the track. But after Lehmann Street lies behind a driver, the track's altitude has turned to moderately downhill, and the speed trap comes along right before one of this track's special features begins: a short section paved with cobblestones. It's another reason to have a rallye kind of setup on your car on this track, and at about half of the length of the cobblestone section, which is clearly shown in the old track drawing, the track's downhill angle gets steeper and steeper as you go through the mild left-hand kink near the old seasonal cookie factory, downhill towards the tightest corner of the track. That one is of course the right-hander Max Square, taken in 1st gear. You must be careful not to ruin your front wing here, as the track altitude kinks to flat at the bottom of the hill when you enter the corner, maybe having an opponent besides you, who you want to overtake. Yes, overtaking is possible here, but this place is probably the most difficult on the circuit to actually do it, because of the limited width of the road, the kink in altitude and the breaking on cobblestone pavement. Max Square has a grandstand erected just behind a short escape road, and is located downtown, making it one of the most popular spectator spots on the track, and probably one with expensive ticket prices. Having gone around Max Square, you go through a tiny left hand kink in a very short straight, that is the overall low point in track altitude on the whole track, approaching the 90 degree right-hander Market (2nd gear).
That one doesn't have an escape road, only tyres and barriers on its outside, but whereas you enter it on a street that's two lanes in width, the street that follows on the exit of the corner got three lanes for a short while. So you go round there, with the crowd on Market Square cheering you on, and begin to speed up the hill at a relatively steep angle, through the slight Esses of Driving School (accelerating) up towards the BP Gas Station (accelerating, maybe even jumping again), where there is a crest, on from which the track leads moderately downhill for a short while, until it dips at Stoned (7th gear), which is named after a nearby stony path leading through the valley of the river, that departs from the track here. After Stoned, the track rises again moderately, interrupting its rise for a short, flat stretch in front of the Soccer Field (7th gear, maybe 6th gear for some), where I'm sure many spectators will be around. It continues going uphill through the left-hander and slight Esses of the Hotel section, named after a hotel that has closed down by now, and fades to going steeply uphill after that, reaching the top of White Hill somewhere along the left-hand bow that's named after that same hill (7th gear). As you can see in the altitude diagram, White Hill is the 2nd highest point of the track by only a few meters, and the rundown from the hill is somewhat similar in angle to the last part of the climb. During that run-down from the hill, drivers pass their former grid slots and the start-finish line, too, completing a lap of the circuit of my Hometown, maybe readying themselves for a possible overtaking manoeuvre in Turn 1.
Barriers are close everywhere on this track, and this might be a pretty dangerous place to race on after all. So please tell me about how you would improve the safety of this circuit. Thanks.

[Tathrim]

I like this. It has a nice feel to it.

[Yannick]

As always, thanks for the replies (or in this case, reply). I guess the limited resonance was somewhat down to the current overflow of g-map street tracks, and the holiday season.
And as you can see, there is not much left in the archive that would be worth posting (without having to do time-consuming preparations beforehand - and I'd rather take nice pictures of gingers and the like instead ).
So the next one, that is going to be online in a few seconds, might well be the last one from the archive.

[Yannick]

Raceland / Mississippi Delta Speedway, Raceland, Louisiana

Located amidst fields of sugarcane, near the crossing of US Highway 90 and Louisiana Highway 1; southwest of New Orleans in Louisiana's Lagniappe Parish, an area in the exhausted riverbed of a former side branch of the Mississippi river in its delta region, the Raceland / Mississippi Delta Speedway has been a permanent road circuit with a length of 6.2 kilometers.

Track history:
This circuit was opened in 1996 with an event that hosted several NASCAR races of lower categories. Over the years, NASCAR has returned on an on again off again basis, whilst also an annual Superbike event was held. Sportscars and IRL have also graced the track several times since then. But the OtherWorld(ly) Series with its already many US races was here only once, when in 1997, the Raceland / Mississippi Delta Speedway was hosting that series' Cajun Grand Prix. That's also the only time when I drew the track.
Having had an FIA Grade 1 license at the time, the track was in negotiations for the 2000 Grand Prix of USA of Formula 1, but the track owners were outbid by Tony George and his Indianapolis Motor Speedway. So it was back to Superbikes and NASCARs again, until in 2005, tragedy struck, in the form of Hurricane Rita, which did severe damage to the track itself, to the pitlane building, the medical center, and some grandstands. The only building that was fairly unaffected was the race control building, in which also the business bureau of the track is located.
For a year now, track owners and the town council have been looking to find finance and tried to develop a redevelopment plan that satisfies their creditors, too, but that hasn't come to fruition yet. So this is a last call for the help of fellow track designers to reconstruct this circuit in a financable way, even if it should include shortening it.

Here is the map of how the track looked like before the devastation:
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...g/fd766cdb.jpg

Lap description:
This description is written in present tense, as if it was still able to be driven on that way, and not in limbo like the A1-Ring is. In the racing community, hopes are still high that it can still be rebuilt that way in one way or another.
The Raceland / Mississippi Delta Speedway runs anticlockwise. It is fairly flat in altitude, but mild elevation changes occur, and a small artificial hill was erected, too, to make the track more exciting.
Coming down start-finish straight, drivers ready themselves for Turn 1, a multi-apex reversely parabolica-shaped right-hander that's closing in on exit and goes around about 120 degrees. At its tightest, this one is taken in 3rd gear by most. There is a line, however, that enables drivers to go through in 4th gear, but this requires leaving the door wide open for opponents from behind. Taking as much speed through here is important, because up next is the circuit's longest full-throttle passage that consists of the circuit's longest straight and a long bowish kink to the right called Turn 2 (7th gear). After that, the track goes on straight for a short while, until the braking zone for the main overtaking place on the track begins: Turn 3 (3rd gear), a left-hander that's cambered a bit and that's tighter on entry than on exit, so you can accelerate smoothly out of it for the next straight that is to follow.
At the end of said straight, there is the chicane. It's an S-type of chicane that first goes left into Turn 4 (2nd gear) and then right through Turn 5 (2nd gear accelerating) and that's leading uphill a bit. Much like the chicane on the Hungaroring, this one can be used for surprise overtaking attacks.
After the chicane, there follows a straight that's bowed slightly to the left, which ends at a quick right-hander, which is a blind corner, because during it, the track altitude drops a bit. It's of course called Turn 6, since I don't bother too much about corner names, and it's taken in at least 5th if not even 6th gear.
Then, the slow section of the track follows. It begins with the braking zone to the tight left-hander Turn 7 (2nd gear), continues with a short straight towards the left-hand kink Turn 8 (3rd gear), and yet another short straight of the same size that leads towards the hairpin, Turn 9 (1st gear, but 2nd gear for some). For spectators, this section was equipped with grandstands to form a stadium section. On the apex of the hairpin, the sudden steep rise of the artificial hill begins. The hill's sides are much steeper than the its top area, so the angle decreases soon to moderately uphill. Cars turn around near 170 degrees in the hill section in a bowed line that makes the two left-handers on the hill's sides, the uphill one, Turn 10 (3rd gear accelerating) and the downhill one, Turn 11 (4th gear), feel like one single, double apex left hander, not least because the reversely cambered bit of track that leads over the hilltop and links them together, is not straight but bowed to the left as well. The anticamber of the hill section makes it quite difficult to drive. Add to that, that the altitude changes make it a 'blind' section. As the downhill part increases in angle, drivers brake into the next right hander, which is closing in on exit, where it's back to flat altitude. That right-hander is of course, Turn 12 (3rd gear). There is no time to rest, as the slow part of the circuit is now over again and the subsequent straight is used to build up speed again. Drivers are opting to get as much speed as possible through the next corner, the left-hander Turn 13 (4th gear), that looks very much like a larger, faster copy of Turn 3. The 2nd longest straight on the track is to follow next, and with it, the 2nd longest full-throttle passage as well. Still, the full throttle passage doesn't end at the end of the straight. Instead, there is a fast left-right Esse, that can be taken as a continuation of the straight if there is just a single car trying to fit through. And what's special, during the Esse, there is a sudden steep rise in altitude, almost like a step that builds up during the left "Turn 14" (7th gear) and culminates at the apex of the right "Turn 15" (7th gear too), after which the track is completely flat again. As this "step" section is located at a place, where cars are on high speed, it poses quite a challenge for race engineers and drivers alike, because they need to find a set-up that avoids grounding the car at the step, and find good aerodynamics at the same time so that the air flow won't break, which would cause the car to flip around at the step, but instead retain the efficiency of the wings to allow the step to be taken at full throttle.
Once drivers and their cars have managed to take a step up, still being on high speed, the long multi-apex bow of Turn 16 follows, that is first closing in, then opening up again, and then closing in again. Because of the multiple lines possible through here, I can't say exactly where to shift down gears on the bow, but what I can say, is that drivers enter it in 7th gear, and end it at the braking zone to the final corner, Turn 17, which is a left-hander to be taken in either 3rd or 4th gear. Taking Turn 17 as fast as possible is important for overtaking manoeuvres in Turn 1, and should that fail, in Turn 3 thereafter. Crossing the line in front of the pits, that was one lap of the Raceland / Mississippi Delta Speedway, near the small town of Raceland, LA.

Damages to the track from Hurricane Rita:
Generally, the dust and sand from the gravel traps has been dislocated all over the track. The pitlane building is suffering from mold, as water flooded it from underneath. The grandstands at the stadium section, at Turn 3, at the chicane and across from the pitlane have all got damaged roofs or lost them completely, as they either blew away or fell down onto the seats. But the biggest damage the hurricane caused was to the artificial hill of Turn 10 and 11. Geoscientists would call it erosion. On the side of the hairpin, a large part of the hill has slipped down onto the track, covering and destroying the track surface of the hairpin almost completely, and flattening angle of the hill on that side in the process. On the other side of the hill, another landslide took place, but a less severe one. Still, the track surface and barriers on the sides of the hill are completely destroyed.
Please help rebuild this track with your design skills. Thank you very much.

[Yannick]

Since I hadn't received any replies to the "Raceland / Mississippi Delta Speedway" when I originally posted it, I'm going to put it on top of the thread list again, also to distract attention from the controversially charged track that had been recently found to resemble female anatomy.
So here is said speedway again:

For the larger version, please see the post right above this one.
Thanks in advance for the replies.
Bye

[ScotsBrutesFan]

I'm not sure how this was missed first time around.

OK I'd move the pits to the longest straight and the outside of the circuit.
Reverse the direction of the circuit.
Simply the left hand section
Replace the top chicane with an option chicane set inside a sweeping arc from the simplified section to the new final corner.

It sounds a lot, I'll do a graphic when I have time.

[ScotsBrutesFan]

OK here is the graphic.

On doing it, I decided on another option chicane for the bottom of the circuit as I realised that it was be very quick.
Even if the chicanes are not used the main circuit should provide for overtaking for most formulae.

[Yannick]

Thanks for the edit, SBF. I'm somewhat partial to it though, because you have completely altered the character of the circuit. The chicane at the bottom would effectively bypass the "step" in altitude from the original design, and and turning around the direction would make it a "step down" coming out of a bowish corner, whereas originally, it's meant as a "step up" coming from a long straight.
If you don't like the 1st corner tightening towards its exit, I can just turn that around to promote overtaking, without changing the whole direction.
Concerning the "Esses" at the left-hand side of the diagram: Do you intend re-erecting the artificial hill that was wiped away by Hurricane Rita, or leave the whole area flat?
I really like that long bow towards the top of the diagram. I also like about your edit that it's become a really fast circuit. That parallelogram-shaped slow bit at the left is definitely out of the picture for me, too.

I'll try coming up with my own edit, maybe by outlining the "step up" a bit clearer with a mild, fast Esse, by turning around the 1st corner whilst keeping the original direction and original pitlane, by replacing the Hungaroring-ish chicane at the top by Esses, and by cutting away the slow section.

But first, I'd like to await your reply :-)