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Old 6 May 2016, 06:44 (Ref:3639057)   #36
Purist
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Sears Point-Racing Difficulties of the IndyCar Layout
I thought I should add some more specifics about why the original layout at Sears Point would be so preferable to the current configuration used by IndyCar.

Part of this goes back to my recent post about the compression in slow-speed corners, and then the spreading of the cars on subsequent straights. The other big piece is how the shape of the inside of the corner, as they use it, impacts the usable racing line, and how viable an inside, non-traditional, overtaking line can be.

With the 2.385-mile layout they currently use, Turn 7 is 35-40-mph. The slowest point in the Turn 9 chicane is 45-50-mph. The Turn 11 hairpin is 40-45-mph. All three have a very sharp, almost angular apex setup with the alignment of the curbing. This severely pinches the racing line, and unless the guy on the outside gives it up, an attempt at an inside move will be ineffective; that inside line is just too tight. Alternatively, if the issue is forced by the overtaking driver, there is a pronounced cross-over in the two lines being taken, and a distinct chance or even likelihood of a collision.

And then, after the harsh compression, the leading driver pulls out a significant margin in terms of space coming off of Turns 7, 9, and 11. However, unlike F1 circuits, Sears Point has no really long straights, and there isn't the room available to make one that would be long enough.

After Turn 7, you have "the Esses", and so you don't have the straight to set up, pull out, and pass until the approach to Turn 9, but that isn't long enough. The run through T10 to the T11 hairpin isn't long enough either, and still probably wouldn't be even if they went all the way down to the original hairpin turn. The spread coming off of T11 then makes it difficult to make up enough ground on the run past start/finish and up the hill to have a good shot from Turn 1 to T2 of making something happen.

So, with the old Turn 7, the entry is wider in turns of being more open with a smoother curve to it. It's not as abrupt and doesn't narrow the line as much. It's also at least a 55-mph corner, if not 60-65-mph. On the original layout, T9 is a flat-out sweeper approaching 170-mph, and the chicane is a non-issue. You get a clean, fast run through Turn 9 and the gut-check Turn 10. You have the chance to pull up and set up the guy in front for the braking zone at T11, which is 50-55-mph in its unmodified form. This reduces the spread between cars coming off the corner, and the run through Turns 12 and 1 up to T2 is also lengthened a bit, which further improves the racing potential in that section.

None of the other corners are slow enough to be a particular issue, and in its unaltered form, the flow of the track is simply exquisite. If the cars can stay together, Turns 2 and possibly 4 become much more viable as overtaking zones. And as I mentioned earlier, the increase in average speed will be quite noticeable. Coupled with the improved raceability, the action can really come flying at you, perhaps even more dramatically than at Barber. You'll certainly have less time to catch your breath between segments of watching the cars being flung through the corner sequences than you will at Road America or Watkins Glen.

Last edited by Purist; 6 May 2016 at 06:52.
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