|
Trois Rivieres has some definite complications, not least of which, it doesn't have any history, or at least not recent history, of large-displacement, open-wheel racing cars running the course.
It's at the short end of things to be considered for Indy Cars, at 1.521 miles. There would be real concern over the width of Turn 3 (Porte Duplessis). The pit lane, entry, and exit might be questioned for various reasons, like the width of the entry and exit and the tightness of the entry.
The front stretch isn't very long, making forming up the field for the start difficult, and also, the run to Turn 1 is quite short, so the field will still be rather tightly bunched for Turns 1, 2, and 3. Depending on the impact of the downforce these cars make, and the speed carried through Turn 7, on the approach to Turn 8, could be much higher than anticipated, and much quicker than what run-out there is was designed to provide for at Turn 8.
For reference, Trois Rivieres is about the same length as the 1998-2001 CART street circuit in Houston. Both have 10 or so recognized corners. However, the pole record at Houston was in the 93-mph bracket, and I'd guess GP3R (to use a known abbreviation) could well see a pole lap in the 105-mph bracket. Even so, the back straight at Houston was significantly longer than anything at the Quebec circuit.
There's a Trois Rivieres onboard lap video I've seen with a lower formula car; the Turn 3-5 stretch is 11 seconds on the throttle, Turn 5-7 is 9 seconds, and the front stretch (Turn 9, through 10, to Turn 1) is about 7.5 seconds. So, they will be even shorter, in duration, for an Indy Car to traverse.
I'd think the best overtaking point is Turn 5, followed by Turn 7 (depending on mid-corner speed), and then Turn 1, probably. The field is going to be spread out some coming off of T3 though, and you don't have much space after Turn 10 to set up for Turn 1. If T7 is too quick, there won't really be enough space/time to set up a pass into the Turn 8 hairpin. These cars don't get enough punch out of the corner to make it likely that you'd be able to throw one up the inside coming off of T8 and into Turn 9, and if you blow it there, you may eat the pit wall on the outside.
In short, Trois Rivieres is a nice little circuit, but I'm not sure it's the right place for Indy Cars to be whizzing around.
|