Opening my archive

[Alwaysfirst]

Here's what I'd do.......

[Yannick]

@V8_TURBO: There are 22 that I've arranged into a 'season', but up to now, I've only written only track descriptions up to #8, so there is still work to do, which takes time.
@Rockmunky: The feature from historical racing that I've included in track #3 is a jump, but since we're talking fantasy tracks here, rather an over-the-top jump.
@Alwaysfirst: That's a nice infield section there, where the stadium used to be.

[Yannick]

Bluff Mountain is a permanent racetrack on one side of the mountain of the same name in South Africa.
Therefore, it's the home of the OtherWorld(ly)Series' South African Grand Prix. Length is around 4.6 kilometers.

This one is a fantasy track, with which I tried to incorporate the concept of a 'jump' from historical racing, into today's racing.
Besides this oddity, the track may look rather unspectacular and/or boring to you, because at the time, I wanted to fit the other views of the jump onto the same piece of paper.
If you'd like to see it anyway, click http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...g/aa6db391.jpg

Lap description:
The track runs clockwise. The start-finish straight is the only place on the circuit that's flat, since the track is located on one side and almost atop of a rather steep mountain.
At the end of the s/f straight, you turn right into Turn 1 (4th gear). It's a possible overtaking point, but there are better ones. Just after the apex of Turn 1, the track begins to descend into a dip at the bottom of the mountain, which is the lowest point on the track. I've marked that point on the track map. Going on from there, the angle in which the track rises, increases rapidly, until it reaches about 60 degrees (see graphic: side view). A car going this way is expected to get as much speed as possible for the parabolic jump that's next. On in-laps and out-laps, the jump can be bypassed by the 'serpentine' section beside it. (see graphic: front view) Drivers can even bypass it this way, if they feel they need to abort their attempt at jumping upwards across a few ten metres of rockface. Well, it's not really rockface, but SAFER barrier material there. If the car flies right, it doesn't feel like it has been flying at all. The higher a car flies, the harder it is to land properly, and the harder it will eventually land. Broken suspensions have often resulted from this. The lower a car flies, the more likely it is that it will hit the upper end of the jump too early, in an angle that can force the car's nose to break off, or at worst, run straight into the wall that was to be jumped. Therefore, the entire wall has been equipped with SAFER barriers, since the time that they got fashionable. Another safety measure is a big net, to catch cars that haven't quite made it, whilst falling down from the top end of the jump. Teams go to this circuit with special suspensions and special aerodynamics to deal with the jump, so their cars fly easily. All other aspects of the circuit are treated secondary to the jump, because bypassing it would mean to lose too much time. The bypass, the serpentine section consists of two right-handers each at entry and exit of the section, and a tight hairpin, comparable to those on a mountain pass, the serpentine. Track marshalls advise cars that are lapped or being lapped to take the serpentine section at all times. There's traffic lights at the end of the section, just like is the case with all escape roads.
In the landing area, the track continues to rise, but the angle decreases again to less than 20 degrees, going through Turn 2 (6th gear) and on to the back straight atop Bluff Mountain. The top of the mountain is reached on the apex of the kink in the back-straight that is Turn 3 (7th gear). On from there, the track decreases until it reaches the final S-curve, but first only with a moderate angle, like the one that came after Turn 2. At the end of the back straight, the Grand Prix track bypasses a chicane into Turn 4 (4th gear again), which is another possible overtaking point. Since the jump requires the teams to favor mechanical downforce over the aerodynamical one, it's possible to overtake even here. Turn 4 is cambered on the inside, and right from its entry, the track falls at an increasing angle, reaching 45 degrees shortly thereafter. Next is another piece of straight, going downhill with 45 degrees, which leads into the wide, large Turn 5 (7th gear flat). At the entry of Turn 5, the angle in which the track falls, gets more moderate again, until it's almost none at the entry to the final S-curve type chicane that is comprised of Turn 6 (2nd gear) and Turn 7 (3rd gear). Turn 6 is the main overtaking opportunity on the circuit. Should you not make it past a car here, you can of course take your momentum onto the front straight to try again in Turn 1. But beware of Turn 7. There's a 'wall of champions' on the outside of it!

History:
Having been the site of a popular antique racecar hillclimb up to the mid-90s, the location was picked by the organisers of the OtherWorld(ly)Series to host their South African Grand Prix on from 1997 and to incorporate a jump - something that has been lacking from motor racing since aerodynamic downforce won the upper hand over mechanical downforce in the 70s. As a measure to deemphasize the teams' focus from aerodynamics towards the mechanical side of the equation, the design of this track unfortunately didn't work, because teams start with a special kit here, but many fans of the sport believe it was a nice try ;-)
The advent of the SAFER barrier at the turn of the century, when I first drew this track, proved to be crucial in the success of the track, since this race would have had to be discontinued without it. Luckily, there hasn't been any major accident at the jump during the time of no SAFER barriers there, but some cars did indeed fall back into the safety net.

[V8_TURBO]

A jump, what a great way to die. No, I like it. The overall track looks great as usual.

[Purist]

Great stuff so far Yannick.

Yeah, the jump here is a bit over the top, but what the hey, it's a fantasy track. BTW, on the Nurburgring Nordschleife in Germany, it is quite possible to get airborne at both the Flugplatz and Pflangtzgarten.

I've been a bit busy lately, so I missed this thread for a while. Pirenzo commented about the racing line through the Bobsleigh Run on your first course, and it got me thinking. Although the racing line that keeps you low on the banking will be fast and shorter, it wouldn't surprise me if some drivers could make a wider line work: swinging back and forth across from one bank to the other as is neeeded. It could be quite spectacular, like a much exaggerated version of the serpentine action you see as drivers try to break that draft at a track like Daytona, or like that weaving and dodging done by jockeying fighters in a "dog fight".

Keep up the series. You have some good tracks in that archive.

[Yannick]

Originally Posted by Purist

Great stuff so far Yannick.

Yeah, the jump here is a bit over the top, but what the hey, it's a fantasy track. BTW, on the Nurburgring Nordschleife in Germany, it is quite possible to get airborne at both the Flugplatz and Pflanzgarten.

Thanks for your encouragement, Purist.
Indeed, these jumps were the inspiration for the one onto Bluff Mountain. I just decided to jump a bit over the top

[Tathrim]

Grat tracks, I would like to see more!!

BTW your secondtrack is the best of the lot, but then again, a jump or two or some serious banking ain't bad either.

[Yannick]

Boeiragloshe is a permanent racetrack, built in the late 1970s, that's been hosting the Spanish Grand Prix of the ficticious OtherWorld(ly)Series since the early 1980s. It's current length is 7,8 kilometers.


Again, this track has one special feature that is not quite realistic. To see the layout, click here: http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...g/3015aaac.jpg

Lap description:
The track runs anti-clockwise. Most of the track is flat, so I'll just be me mentioning the exceptions from that explicitly. After the start-finish straight, which is actually the shortest straight on the whole circuit, cars lift for a wide left-hander, Turn 1 (6th gear), before they start breaking for the 90 degree left-hander Turn 2 (3rd gear), that has minimal run-off (for lack of space) and SAFER barriers on the outside. Overtaking here is, well, dangerous, but possible. After that one, the most significant, unique part of the circuit begins: the so-called hairpins section, which is surrounded by grandstands, and which consists of no less than 10 tight 180 degree hairpins, Turn 3 to Turn 13 (all of them in 1st gear). On both the western and the eastern side of the hairpins section, there are placed 3 cranes, for lifting stranded cars across the barriers as quickly as possible. This section is pretty demanding on tyres at all times and on drivers and gearboxes late in the race. Off of the ideal line, the track can be really dirty at that time, and there's almost no room for mistakes. The barriers are not really dangerous since the section is so slow, but their closeness is a risk for the cars' suspensions.
Once the hairpins section is behind you, there's a straight that's slightly longer than the start-finish straight, but still you don't get into 7th gear at its end, because there's the braking zone for the tight left-right combination of Turn 14 (2nd gear, 3rd gear for some) and Turn 15 (2nd gear), that's called the 1st chicane. On from the exit of the chicane, the track goes steeply downhill, with cars accelerating through the the wide downhill right-hander Turn 16 (4th gear). The lowest point of the track is reached with the 2nd chicane, consisting of the right-hander Turn 17 (3rd gear, 2nd gear for some), and the somewhat around 170 degree left-hander, Turn 18 (2nd gear). After the exit of Turn 18, the track begins to rise again, going gently uphill in a constant angle that's small when compared to the decrease in altitude that preceded it. So the cars accelerate out of Turn 18 onto the south-eastern straight, the longest full-throttle passage on the whole circuit. At the end of the south-eastern straight, there's a wide left-hander that goes full all the way as well, Turn 19 (7th gear), which has an incredible amount of run-off space, and of which you can't see the exit on entry, because the track continues to rise. After that, there comes another relatively short straight piece of track, on which cars reach their top speed, before they brake into Turn 20 (3rd gear), the 1st of the 3 turns of the Northeastern section, and the major overtaking opportunity on the circuit. When you're on the outside at the exit of Turn 20, you're almost at the apex of the next corner, the right-hander Turn 21 (4th gear) and accelerating. Right after that corner, the angle in which the track rises, increases dramatically, so you can't see the outside of the exit of the subsequent Turn 22 (4th gear as well) from its entry. This is a technical section for drivers, because when you get too far onto the outside at the exit of Turn 21, you need to pass Turn 22 in 3rd gear to get through, costing some time. Once you've gone through the Northeastern section, you've reached the highest point of the circuit, and you're on the back straight. The 3rd chicane, Turn 23 and 24 (both 2nd gear) at its end, is another possible overtaking point, and the entrance to the infield section. Accelerating through the wide, long left-hander that's Turn 25 (3rd to 7th gear), cars descend with the track, in an angle similar to the one, with which the track rose on the Southeastern straight. Next is a left-right combination, sometimes called the 4th chicane, made up of Turns 26 and 27 (both 3rd gear), which is not as tight as it may seem. The next 2 corners, the two right-handers Turn 28 (3rd gear, 4th gear for some) and Turn 29 (3rd gear) are both at the same level of altitude, which is the lowpoint of the infield section, and that lies somewhere above the lowpoint of the whole track.
On from the exit of Turn 29, the track slowly rises again in an almost straight, right-hand bow, at the end of which there is the final hairpin, Turn 30 (1st gear), another excellent overtaking possibility. Crossing the start-finish line, that was a lap of Boeiragloshe (obviously a fake Spanish name).


History:
When the OtherWorld(ly)Series arrived in Spain for the 1st time in the early 1980s, they picked Boeiragloshe for its special feature, the hairpin section, a place where spectators can see the drivers' work in more detail than on any other circuit. This section has been around since the circuit was built, but the section of 3 corners at the northeasternmost part of the circuit was built only in time for the 1st Grand Prix here. In 1991, I drew this track for the first time, as one of quite a number of tracks I did that year.
After the horrific Imola 1994 weekend, this track, too, had to be overhauled, especially since run-off was lacking in several areas. That was especially critical in the final corner, that used to be just a full-throttle kink in the northern straight of the circuit, with the pit wall on the outside of it. As a solution to overcome this, the infield section was built, with the track gaining several interesting spots for spectators in the process.
Besides that, chicanes were built in what is now Turn 13 and Turn 14, and in Turn 16, that used to be a tight 90 degree left-hander with minimal run-off beforehand. Runoff was increased at these 2 points in later years, but the chicanes were left intact.
Today, there's much debate on whether they should stay or be deconstructed again, but no final decision has been made yet, so I'm showing you the track like it now (fictionally) looks like.
But lack of runoff is still somewhat critical in the hairpins section, especially at its entrance in Turn 2 - a problem for which I haven't found a solution yet.

[V8_TURBO]

............well, eh that's really something. Bit of a stop start isn't it?

[Purist]

I definitely prefer courses that don't have so many chicanes. It really breaks up the flow of the course, which has some quite nice high-speed sections.

[ScotsBrutesFan]

If you had separated out the series of hairpins a little, the ciruit could be designed to zig-zag it's way up a steep hillside, with a the final one leading onto a more direct down hill section into the Chicane and then onward through the rest of the circuit.

Just a thought

[shambles]

That circuit has potential, but as it stands - i'd imagine it being quite uninspiring to drive. A tip from me, would be to look at quick corners, leading up to possible overtaking opportunities, rather than stagnated chicanes, which work when spared to maybe one or two chicanes max.

That section of hairpins is crazy, that definately needs changing :P

[pirenzo]

I agree with the others really. I've made a couple of changes. Essentially the same circuit but with a bit more flow I think.

[Yannick]

Knowing that the track is somewhat controversial, I wasn't really surprised by that general air of criticism surrounding this Boeiragloshe layout.
I'm planning to do my own edit/redrawing of it at a later date, since I want to show you the rest of the archive first.

Anyway, I really like what you did to that infield section, Pirenzo. The 3rd chicane (the northernmost) definitely needs to be removed.
And your Turn 2 and Turn 3 is really nice as well.
But I still want to keep in the hairpins section in, because that over-the-top feature is what really inspired this track in the 1st place, back in 1991.

Thanks for the comments y'all.
Y.

[Yannick]

Brownswich is a non-permanent street circuit in a US-American state, which has lots of sun all year. After the rise of popularity of the (ficticious) OtherWorld(ly)Series in the US in the mid-90s (for single seaters, that's otherworldly indeed, isn't it? ;-) there was a need for further races in that country, so the city of Brownswich has been hosting the Grand Prix of Urban America since 1995. Track length is 4.0 kilometers.


Here is the link to the track map: http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...h_clean_25.jpg


Lap description:
Like with most American street races, there are no significant changes in altitude on this clockwise-running track. The paddock and the start-finish straight are located in a semi-industrial area, which is still relatively close to downtown. Turn 1 (3rd gear) is a relatively tight left-hander, closely after which there follows a more than 180 degree right-hander, Turn 2 (2nd gear). Turn 1 is of course an overtaking opportunity, albeit a difficult one. But there is quite a bit of run-off space in this section, compared to other places on the track, whereas the canyon of barriers, that's so common on these types of tracks is already closing in again right after Turn 2, when cars are accelerating out of the slow corner through Turn 3 (around 4th gear), which has nothing but barriers on the exit. After a short straight, there's Turn 4 (3rd gear), a 90 degree right-hander. Turn 4 has an escape road and only recently, race organisers have bought a stretch of land from one of the industry complexes surrounding the track in this part of town, to increase run-off in Turn 4. But the barriers are back sooner than later, as cars accelerate through the wide kink in the straight behind the paddock, Turn 5. Outside of the car, you can clearly see that you are in an industrial area here, with mainly storage halls and packaging factories surrounding this part of the track. Up next is braking for the chicane, Turn 6 and 7 (2nd gear), at the exit of which you enter the back straight. It's important to get a good run through here, because the back straight is one of the two very fast passages on the track, leading back downtown. At the end of the back straight, there is the wide 90 degree left-hander Turn 8 (5th gear, 4th gear for some), which has quite some run-off as well, thanks to the nearby downtown park being specially prepared for the race. You can try to overtake in Turn 8, but it's way easier to do it after the subsequent downtown straight, at the end of which there's a relatively big square, which is sort of the current heart of the city. There, track organisers have built a non-permanent breaking chicane, Turn 9 and Turn 10 (2nd gear), because otherwise there would not be enough runoff in this part of the track. This chicane is one of the possible overtaking points on the track. Accelerating on the kerb on its exit, you go through a wide right-hander, Turn 11, onto the Park Street straight, the other very fast place of this track. At its end, there begins the park section, which is almost as tight as a chicane, but then again not quite. Turn 12 (3rd gear, 2nd gear for some) is probably the main overtaking point on this track, and being in the downtown area here, there are lots of spectators around, who can watch your efforts. Next in the park section is the left-hander Turn 13 (3rd gear), after which comes the tightest of these, Turn 14 (2nd gear). It's possible to take a line through Turn 13 and 14 that makes them one corner, but not all drivers choose to do this. Right after that, the right-hand Turn 15 (3rd gear) follows, leading into yet another canyon of barriers. Ahead of a short straight lies the breaking zone to the hairpin, which is in a wide right-hand kink, that's equipped with SAFER barriers on the outside, Turn 16, which is not really perceived as a corner. Coming into it, you can't see yet what's happening at the hairpin. This hairpin has a very broad escape road, so there is enough space to overtake, but it's mainly only used for lapping maneuvres, since the straight that comes before it, is so short. Of course I forgot to mention so far that the hairpin is Turn 17 (1st gear), thereby sticking to my formula of track description. Accelerating out of the hairpin, cars go through two left-handers, which have about the same radius, and are connected by a short straight, and of course, lots of barriers, Turn 18 and Turn 19 (4th gear). Runoff is critical in Turn 19, since on the opposite side of the wall/barrier, there is Turn 8. Cars are now heading out of town again, passing some historical villas from the 18th century on the left side of the track, up to the final chicane, Turns 20 and 21 (2nd gear). Accelerating out of there through Turn 22, which has nothing but barriers and the pitlane entrance on its exit, the start-finish straight comes in sight again. Crossing the line, that was a lap of the streets of Brownswich.


Track history:
Before cars raced in Brownswich, it was the home of a popular motorbike race throughout the late 70s and 80s. The park section (Turn 12 to 15) and all the chicanes, with the exception of the one in the industrial area (Turn 6 and 7), had not yet been introduced. Lack of runoff caused some tragic accidents on this track, since without the chicanes, this was a beast of a track. So the city lost their motorsports event in the late 80s. When the Otherworld(ly) Series planned its first race here for 1995, they insisted on changes to the track for safety reasons, and both the park section and the town square chicane (Turn 9 and Turn 10) were introduced. However, protest from the locals avoided a chicane being built amongst the historical villas before the final corner, but after yet another horrific accident, they gave in and the straight before the start-finish straight was cut in halves.
I first drew this track back in around 1995, when I saw its shape outlined on the floor of a room, with furniture and stuff surrounding the track shape, and the free space on the floor being the blot that looked like a nice track. I liked it, because I saw in it a US-style street circuit that's not as rectangular as most of them.

[Tathrim]

Nice! Looks Very fast and lively. I personally thing that the Chicanes included in the diagram are needed to slow down the cars at the entrance to the hairpin.

[Yannick]

Originally Posted by Tathrim

Nice! Looks Very fast and lively. I personally thing that the Chicanes included in the diagram are needed to slow down the cars at the entrance to the hairpin.

Yup, slowing down cars is indeed what the chicanes are there for on the streets of Brownswich.

As it's now Friday, and I've found myself posting one track mid-week and one before the weekend each week (until the archive is up completely), the next one will appear here shortly. And thanks for all of your comments so far.

[Yannick]

The unimaginatively named London, West Bengal circuit is a permanent race track in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located on tiny islands in the river delta of the Ganges, on the coastline of the Indian Ocean, southeast of Calcutta. London, W.B. is the home of the OtherWorld(ly) Series' Grand Prix of India. Track length is 4.3 kilometers.

To see the track, click here: http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...g/e8a220bb.jpg


Track history:
Since the track is located just a few metres above sea level, there are no significant height changes, with the exception of two slopes, one running up towards and the other down from a bridge. And bridges, there are six of them to be crossed on each lap, since the track is located on 6 relatively small islands in the Ganges delta region (known to racing enthusiasts as main island, inner island, central island, tiny island, grande island and seashore island). Surrounded by rather swampy vegetation, and being exposed to the monsoon rains each year, the track surface has grown rather bumpy and abrasive to tyres over the years since it was built in 1991. That was the time when I first drew the circuit, so it's one of my very first track designs. Shown under the link is a re-drawing of it that I took from my archive, having drawn it at a later date.
In the summer of 1994, the monsoon storms hit the track hard, severly damaging several of the bridges, which had to be deconstructed afterwards. As part of the rebuilding process, the track was also upgraded to increased safety standards, that became a requirement that year, and thereby, the track layout was changed to the current one, with 3 new bridges being built and run-off increased. Since the first race after the reconstruction in 1995, the track and the islands that are its home, have been flooded twice by the river, so further reconstuction had to take place to remove mud and repair minor damages to the track surface, pitlane building and grandstands.

Lap description:
The pitlane and the start-finish straight are both located on main island. The start-finish straight is the 2nd longest straight on the circuit, but this is almost a tie, so at the end of this straight, top speed (for this circuit) should be reached. Turn 1 (7th gear) is a wide kink to the left, which is still perceived as part of the straight in its first two thirds, whereas in its last third, you need to be on the inside to start breaking for the 100 degree right-hander Turn 2 (3rd gear). The run-up to Turn 2 and the corner itself are very bumpy, which makes overtaking difficult there, though still it is possible. (Lapped cars usually go wide through Turn 1 though.) Coming out of Turn 2, you are still on the bumpy side, accelerating towards Turn 3 (4th gear), a corner of many a radius, which closes in a little on the exit, but through which you can easily continue to accelerate for the subsequent straight anyhow. But be careful with the bumps on the exit, right before the ramp for the bridge begins to rise. This next straight leads up a rise towards the 1st bridge, connecting main island and central island, then over the bridge, which gently bows across the river, with its center being the highest point of the circuit at 18 meters above sea level. Then, the straight runs down a similar slope on the other side of the river on central island. All in all, this part of the circuit is its least bumpy part, luckily including the breaking zone to the chicane that's up next, the main overtaking point of the circuit. The chicane is a relatively tight left-right combination, Turn 4 (2nd gear) and Turn 5, leading back onto the original track layout shortly after. Cars are welcomed back by heavy bumps there and accelerating through Turn 6, a right-hander that opens up onto the next straight, they meet even more bumps. The next straight leads over two bridges, connecting central island with tiny island, and that one with seashore island. It's only noteworthy, because these 2 bridges are the only ones that are left from when the circuit was originally built, so before and after each of these, the underbody of the cars is likely to have contact to the road - making this probably the part of the track that has the worst condition of the whole circuit. They have been resurfaced a few times during the last 10 years, because that is cheaper than building new bridges, but it's just not enough. Anyway, knowing that the next flood will return the bridges to the same state as they are today, the organisers are probably right in that they don't want to waste money on replacing the bridges. After having passed the 3rd bridge, cars break for the seashore curve, the combination of Turn 7 and Turn 8 (both 3rd gear), with a short, straight centerpiece between them, that's a little cambered. Oh, and it's bumpy, too! Accelerating out of Turn 8, while crossing the 4th bridge, which is not as bumpy as some of the others, because it's currently the newest of the bridges, you enter grand island. The almost unnoticeable kink Turn 9, through which cars are still accelerating, is the gate to the back straight on grand island. Next is a wide left-hander that is taken full throttle, which has its apex immediately after entering the corner, and which then opens up, Turn 9 (7th gear). You don't see the corner's exit on entry, so it takes some courage to have a go at the corner full throttle. Fortunately, Turn 9 is fairly in the middle of grand island, so it's rather bump-free. After a relatively short straight piece of track, the 2nd chicane follows. It's a left-right combination, Turn 10 and Turn 11, 90 degrees each (2nd gear each), at which the original track layout (that also had a combination of two 90 degree corners in almost this place) is left for the 2nd time. Anyhow, as we're getting closer to the water in Turn 11, bumps galore return. Next is central straight, leading across the 5th bridge onto central island, through the central kink, Turn 12 (7th) gear, and continuing along the thin arm of central island, across the 6th bridge back onto main island. The part of this straight that's most bumpy comes right after the central kink. Not yet having re-entered main island, cars begin braking on the 6th bridge for the tight 3rd gear right-hander Turn 13, another nice overtaking opportunity, were it not for the car's underbody hitting the tarmac in the braking zone. Turn 13 is the entry into the tightest section of the track, which can be observed from a grandstand on main island on the inside of the track, perpendicular to the main straight, from which you have a view into the pitlane as well, if you're lucky to get the right seats. Next in that section comes the final double left-hander, that depending on line, can be taken either as one or two separate corners, Turn 14 (2nd gear, 3rd gear for some) and Turn 15 (3rd gear). Both of the corners and all possible lines are equally bumpy. The pitlane entrance is located on the entry of Turn 14, leading around the gravel trap on the outside of Turn 14 that is off of the edge of the track diagram. Accelerating through Turn 15, that has the pit wall on its outside at the exit, cars run onto the start-finish straight again, completing a (bumpy) lap of London, West Bengal.

[Alwaysfirst]

I quite like that whole track actually. Even with the chicanes it seems to have a good flow about it.

[Tathrim]

Hmmm... I was thingking of something like this

[Alwaysfirst]

I suppose that's ok. Not much of an improvement but fine in it's own right........no better & no worse.

[ScotsBrutesFan]

The thought of two extra bridges onto a currently unused Island, just for what is effectively an open hairpin, doesn't make a great deal of sense.

But then it's a fantasy circuit, and fantasy bridges don't cost anything. I'm not sure what it adds to the circuit other than length.

The double left hander would need more run off which it can't have since it's an Island as the approach speeds would be much higher than in the orginal proposal.

[Yannick]

Originally Posted by ScotsBrutesFan

The double left hander would need more run off which it can't have since it's an Island as the approach speeds would be much higher than in the orginal proposal.

It's nice to see that this circuit on the river Ganges caused some more discussion than the track on the streets of Brownswich, but I must agree with you SBF on the fact that run-off would be critical in the double-left-hander, if the approaching highspeed part would be enlarged. I wouldn't want a chicane to reduce it in front of the double-left-hander, because that would ruin the flow again.
And the open hairpin on the so far unused island is a nice idea, but building a further two new bridges is not a good idea in hindsight of the next monsoon storm at London, West Bengal. Anyway, just for the flow of it, that's a nice effort Tathrim. Thanks for posting.

And now on to the next installment in the series!

[Yannick]

The Circuit De L'Île is a permanent racetrack, near Chartres in the departement Eure-et-Loir, France. It is the home of the OtherWorld(ly)Series French Grand Prix. Length is around 6.8 kilometers.

Click to see it here: http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...g/164d3c33.jpg

Lap description:
The track runs clockwise and is rather flat over all. The start-finish straight goes downhill at a very slight angle, so drivers don't need to stand on the brakes at the start.
After the straight, there follow 3 wide highspeed sweepers, all 3 of them with radiuses comparable to Monza's curva grande or Imola's old Tamburello. These are the left Turn 1 (7th gear), Turn 2 (7th gear too), that goes right about double of the angle of Turn 1, and Turn 3 (also 7th gear, but 6th gear for some on exit), which is another left-hander. There is a drawing error on the diagram which indicates a lack of runoff between Turn 2 and Turn 3, which is not the case, and is indeed merely a drawing error. Going through Turn 3 full throttle requires courage and a good car setup too, since Turn 3 goes around way more than 90 degrees. Cars that are not set up as well need to lift on the exit of Turn 3, and backmarkers with ill-behaving beasts of cars might even need to shift down to 6th gear.
It's important to get as much speed out of Turn 3 onto the straight that follows right after it. When the straight begins to bow into an inverse parabolica, that's the beginning of the so-called '5' section of corners, that consists of five (how could it be any other? ;-) subsequent corners. Turn 4 is the inverse parabolica, which runs slightly uphill.
Deep into Turn 4, there begins the braking zone the inverse parabolica, which you take in 3rd gear, and which opens up again a little on its exit. But you can't really use that space, because shortly after that, there is Turn 5 (3rd gear) that is a right-hander, which means it goes in the other direction as Turn 4. You accelerate out of it on the kerb on the outside, going slightly downhill through a short bow to the right, Turn 6. At the end of Turn 6, there is a right-left chicane, which is the final combination of the '5', Turn 7 (3rd gear, 2nd gear for some), in which drivers still brake for the tightest corner of the '5', Turn 8 (2nd gear). After Turn 8, there follows a short straight, at the end of which there is the 1st hairpin, the 180 degree left-hander Turn 9 (1st gear), where you can trick yourself past an opponent if you use the surprise of the moment well. Right after the hairpin, cars turn right into Turn 10, through which they accelerate, going onto the first of two rather short straights, at the end of which there follows the left hander Turn 11 (4th gear). The other short straight follows after that, with a 90 degree right-hander behind it, Turn 12, in which you already break for the subsequent 2nd hairpin, Turn 13 (1st gear), that begins right on the exit of Turn 12. Drivers go through Turn 13 in a way that they can exit it being already on the apex of the next tight left-hander, Turn 14, making this basically the tightest section of the whole track. It's important to get through here well, because up next is the long back straight. That long straight is the 1st part of a high speed passage, which is the main reason why this track is relatively long for today's standards. There is a wide bow in the long straight, Turn 15 (flat-out), after which the track continues in straight fashion. After the speed trap, the very wide, multiple radius Turn 16 (7th gear, 6th gear for some) opens up, which shall turn cars around almost 180 degrees, where drivers must lift a little to get through cleanly. There are a few possible lines to get through here and it's a bit cambered in the 1st half. And it's really important to get through Turn 16 cleanly, since a) this is the high speed part of the track where you will not want to lose any time and b) after the next straight, there is the main overtaking point of the circuit: the chicane.
The chicane, made up of a right-left combination, that becomes tighter as the radius of the right Turn 17 (2nd gear) decreases, opens up to the main straight again, after the apex of the tight 90 degree left hander Turn 18, on the inside kerb of which you already accelerate again for the straight. Crossing the line, that was a lap of the Circuit De L'Île.

Track history:
De L'Île, the permanent racetrack that's located at about 1/3 of the way from downtown Paris to Le Mans, was built in time for the 1995 French Grand Prix of the OtherWorld(ly)Series, an event which it has hosted ever since. I first drew the track in the summer of 1995, not having anything better to do and experimenting with shapes on paper. I liked the 5-shaped section, and then I wanted a highspeed section with a long straight, so I developed the track around that. At the time, I quite liked it, but these days I think the section between the 2 hairpins is quite boring. A final correction to the drawing: The motorbike track bypasses the chicane at the beginning of the start-finish straight in a wide right-hand sweeper that's not visible in the drawing.

[Tathrim]

Nice track. The final chicane reminds me of the old Variante Alta at Imola, but, you could create a wide runoff on the second part of the chicane to avoid the chance of a masive pileup (example of reason is France at the imola chicane at the weekend in F1) click here to find out about what I mean, along with a possible variation.

BTW thanks for the comments.