Fuji, not Suzuka

[ASCII Man]

This reminds me alot of the Toyota/Honda situation at CART, and we all know how that went...

[Splatz the Cow]

Oh, my word!!!!!

Now I understand. You're talking about the track configuration 150 years ago!

Guys, in the seventies half of the current F1 grid were not born or were new borns, is it really relevant to talk about this now.

We're not racing Ancient Roman chariots here.

Well, now that you mention it, I prefer the old Nurburgring lets change the whole F1 schedule to have that.

And the older Silverstone layout was a lot faster - that too.

Come to think of it, how about almost every other track before chicanes were put in!!!

I thought you were all discussing the relevant changes that have occurred to get the track ready for F1 for this coming season (2006AD).

The track has been in its current configuration for a few years now, and just because your website had a track layout from the 70s is of no relevance here.

Do we discuss the old Melbourne layout now too?

Sorry, Purist my comments are not directed at you, as you are (one of few) clearly putting in a lot of effort to make some interesting racing comments about passing and lines etc.

Perhaps it would be more useful of everyones' time if we stick to discussing track layouts from recent years where there is a comparison of drivers, cars, tyres, engines and the like.

If you want to discuss track layouts from the 70s and 80s then this thread is surely mislabled and belongs maybe in another category.

Perhaps some of you might make the effort to check out the official webpage for Fuji Speedway, and also the official webpage for the SuperGT, the worlds premier GT championship. They don't seem to have the same troubles with Fuji as are mentioned on this forum, perhaps you could do a joint email about you concerns. With the number of years they have been racing on the same track layout I guess there is a chance that they are wrong, and its not a good track for racing, but its not much chance really is it.

Now turn to the corner and hang your heads in shame, you lazy buggers.

[Purist]

Splatz, in regards to Fuji, I'd be relatively happy to return to the layout that was used up until last year (2004).

Just an FYI, up until VERY recently, I didn't have cable, so I missed A LOT of races. I did not see a circuit that prominently features what I know to be a chicane until 2000 when a family friend started taping F1 races. Two of the races he recorded that year were the German and Italian Grands Prix. In the former, three cars tried to fit in a hole made for one, wheels flew, and Alesi had one hit his car right in front of his face. Then there was Monza, where Barrichello caught out the Jordans and David Coulthard, de la Rosa launched off some debris, and a track marshall was killed. YES, those races, and others, have coloered my perception of how useful modern configuration changes are in improving safety. I can't think of there having been a clean first lap at Monza racently. CART has made a mess of the field in the "Festival Curves" how many times? Rubens Barrichello got it wrong and went front-wheels-up off the back of Raikkonnen at the chicane during the 2002 Monaco Grand Prix, and how many near-hits and overshoots do we see there every year. Even the innerloop at Watkins Glen, which is relatively quick, routinely sees incidents. Difficult corners being part of the track to begin with is one thing, but artificially instating a chicane or complex is another. We don't need to be purposefully designing even more chances to play with physics into racing circuits. Frankly, you're probably less likely to crash on whatever the pre-existing section was, and in most cases from what I can tell, well planed verges/run-offs and impact reducing barriers would do FAR more good in the end.

A number of those "classic" circuits provide/have provided great action, and without many of those additions. Also, difficult/dangerous corners/sections breed respect on the parts of the drivers. Drivers usually behave themselves through Eau Rouge at Spa, the Carousel and Kink at Road America, the Esses and final couple truns at Road Atlanta, 130R at Suzuka, etc. So, I'll let the damage record speak for itself. As for many of the bygone fatalities, cars are MUCH better built now than even 15-20 years ago, and even tracks like the Nordschleife have appreciable retaining barriers all round as far as I can see. Let's face it, cars used to crumple and eject drivers, and barriers used to often be flawed, or were just non-existent until you hit a rock, tree, house or exposed basement.

I'm planning on eventually designing major road courses (getting a civil engineering degree at the moment), so I've been paying close attention to what happens on track, and not just what the theories and spredadsheets say "should" happen.