Shanghai Street Circuit

[Purist]

I haven't gotten to watch the DTM race just yet, but I saw enough from the snippets on YouTube that I wanted to start a discussion here.

Basically, there are a few nice elements to the layout of the course; however, particularly toward the end of the lap, there are some serious issues.

My eyeball analysis is that the track has 7 corners, so that's what I'm going to base my description on.

First off, the chute between Turns 5 and 6 is very narrow; at best it's 2 lanes wide, and it might not even be the full 24ft regulation width.

Next, the pit entry is immediately after Turn 6, which is a left-hander. As the entry is on the left, you have to stay very slow while still more or less on the racing line as you enter the pits, and the entry road is just one lane wide. Also, if things get squirrelly coming out of 6, you could nail the end of the pit wall.

This next bit is a bit complicated, so stay with me. Coming out of 6, the track is 3 lanes, but you almost instantly lose the left one to the pit entry. Next, almost simultaneously, the wall to the right moves back, finally allowing you access to the right 2 lanes, but as this is happening, the pit entry shifts to the right by one lane. This means that there is only ONE through lane for that part of the course, but since you're in the middle of a right-hand turn there, you're still having to turn anyway, and you really have to thread it between the walls on either side right there. To complicate matters further, Turn 7 is very bumpy, even in the road-going C63 AMG, and so you may not even want to use the lane to the far inside.

Finally, as the pits are on the outside, you have to watch it as you drift out to the left on the exit of Turn 7 and the approach to Turn 1. You could clip the end of the pit wall, and you also have to look out for cars exiting the pits at least partially on the racing line.

Here's the page from the DTM site:
http://www.dtm.com/rennen.php?rennen=2010-11-28

Here's onboard footage from the Mercedes "ring taxi" at Shanghai:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyPCl1qWi-M

So, now, what I'm looking for is first, do all of these trouble spots register with you guys? Do you guys see any other issues the I haven't mentioned? And of course, what changes would you make to improve the course, both for safety, and potentially for the racing itself?

[Mike_Wooshy]

I agree with the final corner being far to tight. If you look over the weekend someone even penetrated the pitlane in an accident, and it was the posistion of many other crashes during the DTM weekend.
This is how the track is right now, with the current pit lane. From replays of the race and the google maps view theres a central reservation that could be removed to apply more room like this. that should allow the pitlane entry an easier time without having to be so thin. But on the whole I feel this is a poor place to hold a racing track or atleast a poor place to put the pitlane.

[Purist]

They definitely need to remove a portion of that central island to let the track run out on the exit of Turn 6. My thought would be to then, when the island discontinues, have the track itself take the outside lanes, and put pit lane on the inside of the curve.

Also, I wish they had stuck with the original proposal, though that would have required another segment of island to be removed. This page has it (outlined in blue).
http://www.gdecarli.it/php/index.php?var1=2&var2=2

That first version of the course gives a second straight of decent length, and coupled with the changes to the left-hander before the pits, would loosen up the corners at both ends of that chute as well.

Edit: It looks like that link won't lead you straight to the page I tried to link to. You'll have toe click on the CHN abbreviation for China, then on "Pudong (2010)" in the track listing.

[Quintin03]

Direct link here. The blue track on the map is what you are looking for.

[dyewat808]

Man that really doesn't look a suitable place to have a race-track. If someone here suggested that its flaws would be pointed out straight-away.

[Purist]

Well, I think the layout of the track itself would have passed muster here, but those lane shifts and that pit lane would have drawn criticism, yes.

With the track as it is, my other mild frustration is that there were a number of places where it looks like the organizers could have made the track wider by a lane or two, but didn't.

The RFK Stadium circuit that the ALMS used was very nice in that, for a more urban setting circuit, the organizers made damn sure the track was at least 40ft wide all the way around.

[Quintin03]

Originally Posted by Purist

The RFK Stadium circuit that the ALMS used was very nice in that, for a more urban setting circuit, the organizers made damn sure the track was at least 40ft wide all the way around.

Not that hard to do when you can create the whole track from scratch 'ey?

[dyewat808]

Ooh never seen that RFK track before. That nice consistent width is very pleasing to the eye if nothing else

[Purist]

Even when it looks like you'd have all the room in the world, the track can still be botched.

Anyway, apparently the Washington D.C. course was 45ft wide, not just 40ft. Here's a closer look with the start of the ALMS race from 2002:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVr17mCOikw

[Purist]

Back to Shanghai, it sounds like from the English commentary of the race, that the drivers were seriously considering a boycott if it had rained on race day.