Opening my archive

[jab]

They're circuits in this thread Yannick's designed - no's 3, 4 and 7

[Purist]

Ok, that clears that up.

[Purist]

I thought I'd do a bit of a recap, and post some thoughts I haven't put down yet.

1. Bournemouth (5.6km/3.480-miles)
2. Keneieune (6.0km/3.728-miles)
3. Bluff Mountain (4.6km/2.858-miles)
4. Boeiragloshe (7.8km/4.847-miles)
5. Brownswich (4.0km/2.486-miles)
6. London, West Bengal (4.3km/2.672-miles)
7. Circuit de L'Ile (6.8km/4.226-miles)
8. Abiszettstadt (3.6km/2.237-miles)
9. Meat City (2.4km/1.491-miles)
10. Circuito Hague dela Trahuerta (3.9km/2.423-miles)

1) I quite like Bournemouth.

2) Keneieune could use a more flowing stadium section. Also, the two 90 degree lefts before it, as was previously mentioned, should be loosened.

3) I like Bluff Mountain in plan form. The one thing I would say is it's rather simple, so it might be nice to add some section in, instead of just having that chicane before start/finish (the circuit is a bit on the short side for a major permanent road course).

4) At Boeiragloshe, something needs to be done to that hairpin section. The chicane in the middle of the following stretch needs to go, and then the right/left at the end of that stretch needs to become one corner really, which will give a more direct approach and better overtaking potential. The left/right/left esse/chicane at the upper right of the picture needs something, maybe just a tight looking entrance with a noticeably looser esse after that leads onto the backstretch. The chicane in the middle of that backstretch should go, and the approach to the tight, right-hander at the end of it should be somewhat more direct. Those sorts of niggly little complexes and chicanes hurt the flow of a course, and diminish overtaking opportunities. Just look at Hungaroring. Bahrain also has some ill-placed corners that seem alright in their own right, but don't help the circuit when taken in context.

5) Brownswich is kind of on the tight side, I'm just not sure which chicanes to eliminate or modify.

6) As for London, it's not terrible. It's not wonderful either, and I'm not sure what I'd change.

7) The left side of Circuit de L'Ile is great, apart from the chicane. That stadium complex/section is another matter. It's tighter than some street circuits I've seen, at least from the plan form view. It really does not fit with the rest of the course. That's also one of the reasons I don't like Shanghai. The snail shell right after start/finish, the curved stretch to the hairpin, and those first two sweepers after the hairpin at Shanghai are all nice, but then you have those two really angular left handers, a straight, and a reallly angualr entry into that snail shell. Then after that great flowing exit from the snail shell, you have the backstraight, which leads into a very tight angular hairpin, a little kink, and that rather angular final turn. It just doesn't all fit together well in one design, much like that twisty section on your design of Circuit de L'Ile.

8) All three chicanes should go from the Abiszettstadt circuit. Yannick, without Garages Chicane, I would certainly think the 90 degree left at the end of that whole stretch at the top of the picture would provide reasonable scope for overtaking. Without the Garages Chicane that whole stretch should be around half a mile, which isn't terribly short, nor dangerously long.

9) I don't need to see Meat City again. Eight turns for every half-mile is ridiculous to say the least, let alone turns that are almost all under 55-mph.

10) At Circuito Hague, the first hairpin should be a bit looser, and more curving, like the shape of the run-off you've drawn for it. That second complex is really too much. That tight, right-hander is alright, but then just have a curved stretch that rejoins the straight a little before the entry to the snail shell. As for that last section. Come up with something a little more creative. At least have something akin to the extra loop on the Donington Park GP Circuit. Alternatively, TR's edit I think would be ok.

[Yannick]

@ V8, Tathrim & Lustigson: Thanks for your replies.

@ jab and the_royksopp: Thanks for your edits of the final corner of the Circuito Hague dela TrahuertÃ*. I kind of like royk's version best, though it obviously doesn't solve the problem of lacking runoff where the pit wall is, so I tried to have a go at the challenge myself.

My limited graphic skills on the computer mouse are probably showing, but I think it's possible to see the point in the following pics that are based on jab's *.jpg-file:

The first one is the initial 'Magny Cours style' version of the final corner:


And the 2nd one is my edit. Please tell me how you like it. Thanks.

[Yannick]

@Purist: Thanks a lot for your extensive reply.

At a later date, when the whole archive is online, I will probably edit some of these tracks and take into account both your suggestions and those of the others, like widening the 2 90 degree corners at Keneieune, removing chicanes at Boeiragloshe and Abiszettstadt or the new final corner at Hague.

Concerning the Circuit De L'Île, I must say that I consider it rather Tilke-ish these days. I don't know what to do with it yet, but probably, one of the hairpins will have to go.

And the point of Meat City has basically been to be hilarious.

So next in this thread, there will be one of my oldest designs appearing in a few seconds.

[Yannick]

Sands is a permanent racetrack on a site that formerly used to be an airfield. It is the home of the OtherWorld(ly) Series' Australian Grand Prix. Its length is 6.1 kilometers.


Click to view it here: http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...g/b14b1f88.jpg


History:
This airfield, located in close distance to a beautiful beach in south-eastern Australia (hence the name Sands) was transformed into a permanent racetrack at some time in the 1970s. It had hosted salon car races in various nonpermanent layouts even before that. The OtherWorld(ly) Series arrived in Australia in the 1980s and picked this track as its venue for the Australian Grand Prix, which it has hosted ever since. Back then, the chicane in the northwestern part of the circuit was introduced. I first drew this track in one of my initial sessions in 1991, so it's one of my very first tracks. The graphic shown under the link is a recent redrawing, which should explain the different color scheme. Sands is also the home of some motorbike racing events, which take place on a layout that's slightly different from the Grand Prix Course.

Lap description:
The track runs anticlockwise and is relatively flat, as is common for airfield circuits. At the end of the long start-finish straight, there is a wide hairpin-shaped right-hand corner, Turn 1 (2nd gear), making up the first and most important overtaking opportunity of Sands. The short circuit of the track continues straight ahead, but the Grand Prix track takes Turn 1 and reverses its direction. Next is a short straight piece of track, after which follows a wide left-right combination, Turn 2 and 3 (both in 4th gear) with another straight bit in between. After yet another short straight bit, cars go through a 90 degree right-hander, Turn 5 (3rd gear) and after that turn left into the subsequent 90 degree left-hander Turn 6 (3rd gear) that opens up on its exit into the wide Turn 7 (5th gear on exit), through which they accelerate onto the next straight. The section from Turn 2 to Turn 6 can be bypassed, going straight ahead at Turn 2, but the motorcycle track follows the Grand Prix track around this section.
At the end of the southern straight that comes after Turn 7, the 1st sector times are being taken, right before cars turn right into an S. Turn 8 (4th gear, 5th gear for some) is the first part of the S, and the subsequent left-hander Turn 9 (3rd gear, 4th gear for some) that goes around almost 180 degrees, is the 2nd part of said S, leading out onto the next straight.
At the end of that straight, there is a Z-shaped combination, of which the Grand Prix track takes the tighter version than the motorbike track does, so cars need to shift as far down as 2nd gear into Turn 10. The 2nd part of the Z, Turn 11 is also taken in 2nd gear, but cars accelerate out of here for the longest full throttle passage on the entire circuit, that's up next. But before we come to that, let me add that the short layout of the Sands circuit, which split away from the Grand Prix track in Turn 1, rejoins it at the entry of the Z-curve, and takes a sharp left, after having gone straight through the motorbike layout of the Z-curve.
OK, so cars are now through Turn 11 and accelerating all the way through the left-hand bow that is Turn 12 onto the longest straight of the track, which regularly sets the scene for exciting slipstream duels between drivers. Having passed the speed trap and the 2nd sector timing at the end of the straight, they brake for the wide left-hander Turn 13 (5th gear on entry), during which they must continue to slow down for the rectangular chicane that follows just after it. Overtaking is possible here, but it's a bit tricky. The chicane, Turns 14 to 17 (all 2nd gear) is square shaped, and was installed there by the organisers of the OtherWorld(ly) Series for the novelty effect of having a chicane just after a fast corner, instead of what's usually done. The motorbike track bypasses the chicane, rejoining the Grand Prix track on the next straight, at the end of which there is the next point where you can try to overtake under braking, the final left-hander Turn 18 (4th gear).
Once drivers are through here and have clocked in their 3rd sector times on the s/f line, they have completed a lap of Sands.

[pirenzo]

Its alright. I prefered the previous track.
I wouldn't bother with the tighter 'Z' at turn, just have everything use the motorcycle variation.

[Purist]

Is any of the circuit on the old runways. That would definitely be a factor in my determining what changes I would consider.

[Tathrim]

http://img394.imageshack.us/img394/4171/editnd2.png

My little edit. Comments welcome.

[V8_TURBO]

I like your proposal on the far right, but even though the other two make the track flow better, I still prefer the originals better. But again that's just my opinion.

[ScotsBrutesFan]

I generally like the overall design but I would tweak it a little, here's what I'd do with it.

Marked in red, I'd move the pit complex into the infield, giving more space.
Marked in Yellow, I'd smooth out the Z chicane for all categories ( think this is what was intended for the bikes). It does the job of slowing everyone down, and is still a passing place.
Marked in Black the track passes under an access bridge to the new pit area. between Turns 12 & 13
Marked in Orange, Turn 13 is given some serious banking, to allow a slipstreaming car from T12 to follow closely through T13 and then pull out and level onto the next straight
Marked in Blue is the new position of the Chicane...the square one didn't match the flowing nature of the rest of the circuit. As stated above, cars could approach side by side.
And to finish the entry to the new pit lane is prior to the final corner.

Maybe not to everyones taste, but that's my edit.

[the_royksopp]

That's a very nice edit, SBF.

[Alwaysfirst]

I like the first 2 changes & the new pitlane but I'd prefer not to have the chicane on the straight down to the last corner-just personal preference though!

[Yannick]

@Tathrim & ScotsBrutesFan: Thanks for the edits. That's an interesting change to the hairpin there, Tathrim. Anyway, I'd still like to keep the square chicane in place. As for the 'blue chicane' in your edit, SBF, I agree with Alwaysfirst.

@pirenzo, V8_TURBO, Alwaysfirst & others: Thanks for the comments. After the reading the reactions that tracks tend to get on this message board, I kind of expected that the Z and the square chicane would be unpopular. So far as the motorcycle version of the Z is concerned, I agree that it's much more flowing than the cars version.

@Purist: Thanks for pointing out that one thing I forgot in my track description:

Parts of two old runways are included in the track layout. On the 1st runway, there is the s/f straight, the pitlane, the 1st corner hairpin and the short straight that follows it.
The 2nd runway lies underneath the long back straight at the northern end of the circuit - the one that's between the Z and the square chicane.

[Yannick]

This track is a semi-permanent street circuit in the island state of Cape Verde Islands, in the fictional harbour town of Cape Verdishe. As such, it is the home of the Atlantic Grand Prix. Its length is 4.1 kilometers.


History:
When in the 1980s, the organisers of the OtherWorld(ly) Series chose to make the harbour town of Cape Verdishe their Monaco of sorts, they decided to surround the harbour with a pier-like structure, onto which the permanent part of the racetrack was built offshore. On that large pier, there even are several grandstands and sufficient run-off, like on any other permanent racetrack. The spectators can reach these areas of the track by boat/ ferry, which are organized especially for this purpose on the race weekend.
As the Cape Verde Islands are lesser known to tourists, generally lesser developed for tourism and further away from Europe in the Atlantic ocean than, say, the Canary islands, this Grand Prix has brought large numbers of tourists into the country as spectators, and along with them, large amounts of tourist money, from which the local economy and infrastructure has benefitted greatly since the 1st race here, so that the initial investment for building the pier section of the track has been fully justified.
In fact, for spectators and competitors alike, the flair and atmosphere of this Cape Verdishe venue is unique in the world of motor racing, maybe having only a slightly similar counterpart in the Monaco street race that inspired it, but the town Cape Verdishe is much less posh and more down-home than that one.
During the year, the bridges connecting the island to the pier section are permanently opened, so boats and ships can get from the harbour out to sea and vice versa. They are even being opened for a few early morning and late night hours during the race weekend to allow through local fishing boats. Every year, this Grand Prix is a destination of quite a number of cruise ships, too. Anchoring in the harbour or offshore around the pier section, spectators still can have a decent view from the main deck of these ships, even if they don't have grandstand tickets. Therefore, the cruise organisers pay a standard amount fee to the race promoters, if they want to book an anchoring slot around town on race weekend.
I first drew this track back in 1991, and that's also when the idea of a more out there Monaco with a special feature that's more out there than the tunnel, the pier section, was born. I just wasn't sure about the altitude differences back then.

Here is the track map: http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...g/b9ba47f7.jpg


And here is the lap description:
Running anti-clockwise, a lap of Cape Verdishe begins on the start-finish straight, that leads alongside the whole length of the small harbour basin on the harbour promenade, with the pitlane and temporary pitlane buildings standing behind it in second line. On race day, it is possible to anchor your yacht right across the straight in front of the pits. But local fishing boats are guaranteed their usual anchoring slots wherever they may be on the harbour, so if they shouldn't decide to lease them out to somebody else on race weekend, there should be at least a fraction of the usual harbour smells around, adding only to the flair of this particular Grand Prix. Turn 1 (2nd gear, 3rd gear for some), at the end of the s/f straight, is the 1st part of a right-left combination. In between the two parts of that, the track goes relatively steeply uphill until the exit of Turn 2 (2nd gear). Both these corners have an escape road each, with the one in Turn 1 being the one that offers more space, since braking into Turn 1 is an overtaking opportunity.
Having passed Turn 2, the track goes along a short straight, at the end of which there is the wide, almost 180 degree multiple-radius left-hander Turn 3 (5th gear), that's surrounded by some park environment on the outside, providing some run-off, and at the apex of which the track begins to moderately decrease in altitude back to the level of the harbour promenade. Exiting the harbour quay in the next corner, the relatively tight right-hander Turn 4 (3rd gear), the track goes out offshore onto the pier section. In Turn 3, there is both an escape road, running along the harbour quay road and some run-off that's been built on the pier. After that corner comes a short straight, during which the cars cross the first of the two bridges that connect the pier with the island. Beginning at the exit of Turn 3, it's full speed ahead for the cars, going along that short straight bit and through the wide sweepers that follow, the left Turn 5 (5th gear accelerating), the right Turn 6 (6th gear accelerating), the left Turn 7 (by the time of which you have reached 7th gear) and the right Turn 8 (7th gear on entry, too), at the apex of which there begins the braking zone for the main direction change on the pier, Turn 9 (3rd gear), that goes around almost 180 degrees and has both sufficient runoff and a grandstand behind that, which unfortunately can't be seen on the track map, since its place is just off the right upper corner of the sheet. It's not easy to overtake under braking on the entry of Turn 9, but you can try. The 1st sector times are also taken at the entry of Turn 9.
Accelerating out of Turn 9, cars pass a wide kink to the right, Turn 10, out onto the Atlantic straight, which is the longest straight of the circuit. It is along this straight of the track, where cruise ships have general admission tickets. At the end of the Atlantic straight, there is the speed trap right in front of a tight left-right combination S-curve, made up of Turn 11 (2nd gear) and Turn 12 (2nd gear too). The main overtaking point of the track is out here on the pier at the end of the Atlantic straight, so the S-curve is surrounded by grandstands. For safety reasons, there are divers all around the pier and the harbour, but they haven't been needed so far, and hopefully never will be.
Coming out of the S-curve, cars accelerate along a wide-left hand bow, Turn 13 (5th gear, 6th gear for some). Here, the pier steeply begins to rise in altitude, making Turn 13 basically a long-winded uphill left turn. They also cross the 2nd bridge here, which is a lot higher above ocean surface than the 1st bridge, because the track climbs here to reenter the island atop a cliff.
Having entered the cliff, the track passes the old Portuguese castle on its left side, just before the right-hander Turn 14 (5th gear, 4th gear for some) comes along. Turn 14 has an escape road leading straight on, but SAFER barriers are placed on its outside on the track, leading up all the way to the left-hander Turn 15 (5th gear, 4th gear for some, too), at the exit of which there starts the braking zone for the hairpin. This is the place where the difference of the permanent pier section part of the track and the tight street circuit part shows most significantly, since such fast corners with so little run-off are rare these days even on most street circuits. Going through Turn 14 and 15, the track still rises moderately, until it reaches its high point at the exit of Turn 15, and it is here as well, where there 2nd sector times are taken. Going slightly downhill into the left-hand hairpin Turn 16 (1st gear), you are obviously in the old part of town. Turn 16 feels more like a serpentine from a hill climb than a usual hairpin on a permanent race track. There is some limited runoff in Turn 16, SAFER barriers on the outside and a tiny little escape road that leads steeply downhill. Having turned around the 180 degrees of Turn 16, you find yourself inside a canyon of barriers that goes moderately downhill. In fact you're already some ten meters below the highpoint of the track on the exit of the subsequent right hander Turn 17, which is the entrance to section of right-handers, that has been nicknamed 'the ear'. Accelerating through Turn 17 (3rd gear on its exit), drivers get as high as 4th gear, and some even 5th gear through 'the ear' that's Turn 18, before they abruptly turn right into Turn 19 (2nd gear) at the 'earlobe'. Turning left into the 2nd hairpin, Turn 20 (1st gear), that's even tighter than the 1st hairpin some 10 meters above, the moderate altitude decrease ends, and the track goes on flat for a while after Turn 20, as cars accelerate along a short straight piece of track that's kinked to the left in Turn 21 (4th gear). Turn 21 has an escape road and SAFER barriers on the outside. This is the part of town in which team members, race officials, wealthy spectators et al. prefer to get fed and entertained in the local restaurants and dance clubs during their time off on race weekend.
After Turn 21, there are two further kinks, one to the left, Turn 22 (4th gear) and one to the right Turn 23 (4th gear too), that goes slightly uphill even. These are lined closely by another canyon of barriers. Just after that, on the entry to the left-hander Turn 24 (3rd gear), the track begins to decrease rather steeply down to the altitude of the harbour, which is reached on the entry of the final corner, Turn 25 (3rd gear). Both Turn 24 and 25 have escape roads, but where Turn 24 merely has SAFER barriers on the outside, behind which there is the run-up, or in this case, run-down to the pitlane, Turn 25 has a small amount of runoff space, too, on its exit. It's important to get through cleanly here, because up next, there is the s/f straight again, on which you cross the line for the 3rd sector time, and have successfully finished a lap of the Cape Verdishe street circuit.

[Tathrim]

Iron out the top two 90 degree corners.
Move the start finish straight to the main pier straight.
demolish the pits on the bottonm, and tighten the two chicanes leading on and off of the main straight. (similar to the old Variante Alta)

[V8_TURBO]

I Just don't like it.

[Tathrim]

Originally Posted by V8_TURBO

I Just don't like it.

Things you don't like should be fixed, am I right? So what would you do to Improve the course.

[ScotsBrutesFan]

The concept of racing around harbour walls or Piers doesn't appeal to me, I have to say.
Difficult to say much more about the actual circuit, as it's so strictly governed the harbour lay out.

[Yannick]

After my temporary health problem of this week kept me somewhat behind on my workload, this weekend's update in this thread will have to wait until Monday.

@V8-TURBO: Please tell me what you think should be changed at Cape Verdishe. Thanks.

@Tathrim: Thanks for the suggestions. You also seem to not really like Cape Verdishe. Anyway, your suggestions are not all that feasable at all. What you call the 'two chicanes' before and after the pit straight, are basically streets of the town leading downhill to the harbour basin, and they are lined with houses. Removing the chicane on the pier consisting of the two 90 degree corners would probably make the bow, on which the track rises out of the water onto the cliff, too dangerous for racing. And I doubt there could be a solution to having an entire pitlane on a pier. But as this is a fantasy track, these are legitimate dreams of course ;-)

Thanks for the replies. This is the final street circuit from the archive that I've included in the season. But I have another one in my archive, that is of the American type, and therefore has 90 degree corners almost exclusively. Maybe I post it at a later date, amongst the outtakes, so to speak.
Have a nice weekend.

[Yannick]

St. Albert is a permanent racetrack in the Canadian province of Alberta. It is located in a forest-y region somewhere in the middle between Edmonton and Calgary. As such, this circuit hosts the OtherWorld(ly)Series' Canadian Grand Prix. Track length is 8.1 kilometers.

View the track here: http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...g/dd48f709.jpg

Lap description:
The track runs clockwise. The start-finish straight runs moderately downhill. Therefore, at the start, drivers need to step on the brakes to avoid a jumpstart. Turn 1 (full in 7th gear) is a wide bow-ish kink to the right during the passing of which the track descends steeper than before, but on the inside first (on entry) and later (on exit) on the outside too, to reach an almost flat level. This gives Turn1 a steep camber so that the altitude is always lower on the inside than on the outside, where the track descends less dramatically than on the inside. Immediately after exiting Turn 1, the braking zone for Turn 2 (2nd gear) starts, which is an exciting overtaking opportunity. Turn 2 is a tight right-hander that's comparable to the Dunlop Curve on the 'new' Nuerburgring, so it's slightly cambered toward the inside. The apex of Turn 2 is the overall lowpoint in altitude on the whole track. Around this area, the infield is mainly covered with grass. I shall point it out later when the track leads through the forest. There is a stadium-like grandstand surrounding the track, beginning across the street from the pitlane, and leading all the way down around the 180 degrees of Turn 2. Going unnoticeably uphill, cars follow the track along, accelerating through the left kink Turn 3, heading onto a straight that leads up to the wide left-hander Turn 4 (4th gear), after which another straight follows, leading up to the chicane that was built for lack of runoff in the old Turn 5. The area from Turn 3 to the chicane is lined on the outside by a natural, grass covered embankment that is being used by spectators with general admission tickets as a tribune. The chicane, Turn 5, Turn 6 (both 2nd gear) and Turn 7 (accelerating) is lined on the outside by yet another grandstand that goes all the way around the old Turn 5. The space in the infield is cleared and that enables spectators on this grandstand to not only view cars as they approach the chicane, go through it and leave it, going uphill on the next straight, but they can also see as far as the Parabolica and even the Esses on the other side of the infield from here.
As cars leave behind the chicane, the track begins to rise moderately, increasing in angle at about 1/3 into the straight, getting steeper from there. Around that place, the forest begins, but for now, just on the outside of the track, with the infield having been cleared all the way up the hill towards Turn 8. Going uphill along the straight, at about the level where, across the infield, you can see Turn 9 lead away into the woods, the straight heading towards Turn 8 goes across the rounded hilltop, which is the highest point of the track, and then it slightly descends before cars enter the 180 degree right-hander Turn 8 (4th gear), another cambered corner. From the upper 3rd rows of the grandstand in Turn 8, spectators can see the whole straight, and even the chicane down in the valley in the distance. Turn 8 is a good overtaking opportunity, so the grandstand here is well liked (and more popular than Hockenheim's old Ostkurve), even though it is surrounded on the outside by forest, with the infield having been cleared as broad as the space that Turn 8 suggests. Going along a short, flat straight, cars accelerate through the cambered left-hand bow Turn 9, accelerating for the subsequent straight. Continuing from here, the track is surrounded by forest on both sides, until it resurfaces from the woods at the Parabolica corner that is to follow later on. At the apex of Turn 9, the track begins to steeply decend into a dip, of which the lowpoint is reached at about half into the Forest Straight. After the dip, still following the forest straight, cars go steeply uphill again in a similar manner. With the track still going uphill, cars enter the braking zone for the Forest Bend, Turn 10 (4th gear, 5th gear for some), another overtaking opportunity. Going moderately uphill through Turn 10, the 2nd highest point of the track is reached just a little behind exiting the corner, on from where the track leads moderately downhill again through the forest. In the Forest Bend, both a grandstand and a chicane have been built, but the chicane is not being used by the Grand Prix track. Again, the view from the grandstand is excellent: Apart from the Forest Bend, you can see the whole straight, into the dip and even back up to Turn 9 all the way on the other hill across the valley. But as cars have passed the Forest Bend and the subsequent 2nd highest point of the track now, they are already going moderately downhill through the forest, approaching three downhill right and left swings in the woods.
The first one of those, Turn 11 (6th gear) is the one with the largest radius. Turn 12, the left swing that is the one corner on the track that lacks runoff most significantly, is basically the braking zone for the third one of the downhill swings, Turn 13 (4th gear), which is also the one of the three with the smallest radius. As early as at the apex of Turn 13, drivers must choose their line for the subsequent corner, the long winding Parabolica. Right after Turn 13, coming out of the forest, cars following the track experience a sudden steep downfall until the apex of the Parabolica, Turn 14 (3rd gear). This is probably the most difficult corner on the track, since it is a left that hangs toward the right from entry to apex, turning to positive camber whilst going moderately downhill to the 2nd-lowest point of the track, that is reached at the northernmost point of the parabolica.
Having past this local lowpoint, the cars follow the bowed rest of the parabolica uphill again towards Final Hill. Of course, there is a grandstand on the outside of the entrance to the parabolica, just about on the edge of the forest, overlooking the tip of the parabolica and the cleared infield valley, so that spectators can look across it towards the chicane.
Going uphill with increasing angle, with the forest having never left the track on the left side, cars approach the Esses, a left-right combination of Turn 15 (4th gear) and Turn 16 (4th gear too). Beginning at Turn 15, the track is again surrounded by trees on both sides until the pitlane entrance. After having taken as much speed with them as possible through the Esses, cars continue to go uphill, having reached the steepest point of this climb during Turn 16. Next are two wide left-handers, the two final corners, Turn 17 and 18, through which cars accelerate for the s/f straight, having begun to do that on the exit of the Esses, still going uphill. The top of Final Hill is reached on the exit of Turn 17, with a flat straight stretch leading towards the final corner, Turn 18, making up the 3rd highest place of the track. The two final corners can be taken as one or as two, just as a driver chooses. Luckily, the wall that used to be very close on the outside of final hill, and the trees behind it, have given way to sufficient runoff space on the outside of the Final Hill Corners. The final corner, Turn 18 is flat on its entrance, but beginning at its apex, the track goes moderately downhill and Turn 18 is heavily cambered from there, much like Turn 1, but only half as heavy as that one. Having passed the final hill, that has a general admission area surrounding it on the outside, cars go downhill again on the s/f-straight, to begin the next lap on the s/f-line.


That was a lap of St. Albert. Now here is an excerpt of the track's history:
St. Albert, named after the town that's the most close, but still about 3 kilometers away from the circuit, was built as a permanent racetrack in the mid-1980s onto rolling hills that are covered by forests. So the track is surrounded by woods, and even some parts of the infield still are covered by trees. The relative closeness of the Rocky Mountains and the continental climate make St. Albert one of the coldest places on the OtherWorld(ly)Series calendar, when the temperature average over the whole year is calculated. Initially, the track was built for other motorsports series to race, but after a CART race in the early 1990s ended with the race's untimely interruption because of a snowstorm in the month of June, the track was off of the calendar of most international series until, in 1996, the OtherWorld(ly)Series organizers conducted renovation efforts to increase runoff space for their inaugural Canadian Grand Prix of 1997, at the time of which I first drew this track. Apart from that, the track has hosted a 24-hour race every year since it was built, at the end of the month of July.
Reconstruction efforts over the years included building chicanes into Turn 5 and the Forest Bend, of which only the 1st is still in use, for lack of runoff. Additionally, in time for the 2006 race, the Esses leading up to the Final Hill have been built in the place where once a left-right chicane stood, and the runoff in the two final corners on Final Hill has been increased significantly, in the process of which quite a number of trees had to be cut down. Further minor changes are planned for forthcoming years, for example the removal of the chicane in Turn 5, where the corner shape is to be changed as well, but the grandstands that surround the corner are to be left in place. Your suggestions for a new Turn 5 are welcome! Thanks.

[pirenzo]

Pretty good Yannick! This one has the best flow to it so far, not so many odd combinations of corners here. I suppose less of a challenge, but probably better for spectators.

[ScotsBrutesFan]

I confess I got lost trying to match the track description to the circuit drawing, so the following may not work with elevation changes, however I've kept all the mods except the first within the existing boundaries.

* I'd increase the distance between T1 and T2, giving a longer straight into the hairpin increasing the chances of overtaking.
* T5 is returned to being a sweeper, with much larger radius and cuts over the existing chicane...faster yes, but has increased run-off.
* The 180 degree corner becomes a Lesmo style Double right hander, Clear overtaking chance with switchback possible on the second corner.
*Bottom Chicane..If you insist on having one, the entry is further back up the straight as an overtaking place, also the rejoin now a hairpin offers a dive up the inside...Personally I don't think this chicane is needed at all
* The 90 right followed by the chicane can be smoothed out into a more open right hander - no chicane - and on into the open hairpin left as drawn.

[shambles]

I prefer the original SBF, it's a really nice circuit Yannick - perhaps your best yet!

[Yannick]

Thanks for the replies and the compliments to all, and special thanks for the edit go to SBF. Your Turn 5 is pointing in the direction it is going to end up someday.

After the reactions I have gotten so far on the tracks from my archive, I wasn't surprised by this board's positive reaction towards St.Albert. But as I keep pulling tracks from the archive until the 'season' is finished, there is no learning curve inside the 'season' as well, since I mostly keep the tracks in the state that they are. When it comes to new designs, I'm going to take your reactions into consideration, but that will have to wait until I've emptied out my archive.

Again thanks for reading all of this.