Quote:
Originally Posted by Purist
N4, unfortunately, your proposal just doesn't work. The easiest way to see it is just to look at the circuit and observe the distance between the apexes of Clark and Paddock Hill, and then compare that to the distance between the apex of Graham Hill and the middle of Surtees. The least pressing issue with the current pit lane is the pit-in, and that's the only "problem" you solve by putting the pits along Cooper Straight. The pit lane, in order to fit between Graham Hill and Surtees necessarily must be shorter, especially if it is to have a usable pit-out for the Indy Circuit. Also, there isn't space for paddock/garages at te Surtees end of Cooper. Not to mention, you'd have to build this pit complex on a hill as well, just like the current one.
I've been to three IRL races at Kansas Speedway. I can't see well enough for the whole oval experience to really work for me. Also, I just don't find it that pleasant being stuck in one seat out in the sun for the whole afternoon (to say nothing of some family history of skin cancer).
Of the road courses I've been to, my favorite experience has been my trips to Road America. After that, though Watkins Glen and Mid Ohio both have some great viewing points, I probably give the nod in terms of overall experience to Mid Ohio, in significant part due to the greater availability of tree shade in places where you can still pretty clearly view the track.
As a side note, this kind of heads toward another reason I REALLY don't like paved run-offs: heat convection. If it's 80 F (26.7 C), and you have a parking lot on the outside of a corner, even if you might have some shade, that viewing area can become damned miserable once the sun has been out for any length of time, and especially so if you have high humidity to go with it. (This is probably about unheard of in the UK, but across large parts of the US, in summer, the Dew Point can be so bloody high that lows at night only get down to around 80 degrees. There's a reason the South didn't start to really populate until air-conditioning became more commonplace.)
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Have a look on Google Maps satellite image of Brands Hatch, put your ruler on the screen and measure it for yourself. The current pits fit absolutely perfectly in the area I describe. If they were L shaped, beginning between Druids and Graham Hill, you could double them in size. Having them there also makes the tiny tunnel redundant. I have even paced it out whilst wandering about.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/....2524683?hl=en
Anyway, it is pure fantasy and a lot of engineering work that is never going to happen. My original point was that a short track can be great. I like the idea of cars not being able open their legs, and all over each other. Not every race of the year, a mix of Spa for one round and Brands Hatch Indy for another is perfect. That is why I think NASCAR is so brilliant, you have to the race 1/2 mile flat track at Martinsville, the 2 mile banking of Michigan, and the rolling hills of Sonoma. Half the tracks F1 goes to are just dull as dishwater to me.