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Here is a walk-through for the track. The number beginning
each point refers to the corner number. Written by Blake Nancarrow.
Last edited on 27 August 2001 for the new track layout!
- 1: Light, quick brake in straight line before
turn-in to settle down car. A lot of drivers trail brake here;
others start braking about 100 metres (300 feet) before the turn
in. Turn in so as to not be beyond the middle of the road in
the balance zone--it's off camber. This corner is tricky if you
apex early--there's a lot of bumps at the exit, the turtles themselves
off-camber. You can start to power on as weight transfers to
the front left tire. Gravity helps you as you fall into the hill
and load transfers to the left-front. Tire wall beyond grass
run-off. Happily it's a long apex (several car lengths)--hug
it. A 4th gear corner. Marshal station opposite turn-in. Racers
take this full throttle!
New asphalt runs from top 1 all the way down through the pit
exit into the outer edge of 2. The turtles from the old configuration
are still there, now kind of in the middle of the road surface!
Turn-in feels about the same, can be made a smidgen sooner. Brake
a little less. But now, just as the turtles end at the apex,
you can keep the turn dialled in and run close (with 2-4 feet)
to the new wall on the new pavement and apex later. This puts
the car out 1-2 car lengths later exiting past the really bumpy
part of the exit zone. This makes for a bigger and smoother arc
therefore corner 1 is much faster. To that end, you carry more
speed into 2--be careful.
Pavement through apex is really torn up from all the racing this
year.
- pit exit & bleed line: There is a yellow bleed line to
separate cars at speed on the line on the left from the cars
entering the track on the right. Cars entering the track shoudl
keep right up to the turn-in for 2. Watch your mirrors!
- 2: "Clayton Corner." Blind downhill
double-apex. Get to the right side of the track to set up for
the turn-in. Start turning in so you're in the centre of the
road when cresting the hill. The old white line in the middle
of the road is gone now... This takes lots of practice as there
are no good nearby visual markers for the turn-in. Touch the
gutter at top of hill for first apex, if it doesn't scare you.
Then let car drift out (surprisingly far, maybe half-way or slightly
more) at mid-point of 2 then apply steadily increasing power
going down hill. It points the car and hunkers down, settles
the back end. At the bottom of the hill you should find yourself
at full throttle. Steering input is almost frozen through this--if
anything it tightens at second apex (a slight decreasing radius).
Pavement a bit broken up at second apex--don't creep too much
further to the left else you're in the grass. If you go off the
track do NOT yank the car back on. After the second apex, don't
unwind (at same time, don't fight wheel) until after exit--this
points you to corner 3's turn-in. Let the car track out very
near or touching the turtles. The dip at the end of the turtles
is gone. Old meat-shedder wall beyond second apex has been replaced
with softer tires--nevertheless don't look at it... 4th gear.
Marshal stations near turn-in at top of hill, inside the corner
(usually unmanned), and outside the second apex.
- 3: Uphill. Shift down to 3rd. Again, no
good markers for turn-in. The "school" line is a late
apex; if you take an early one, stay committed and be patient.
You might even lift-throttle-oversteer to point you better. Don't
force unwinding. There's a pavement change at apex--concrete
spots. Keep turn dialled in through the exit to point correctly
for 4. Lots of run off after apex. Hanson recommends exiting
the corner and getting straight before the turtles! Turtles at
apex are smooth; at the exit they're the super bumpy type--you'll
knock the ice cubes out of your tumbler. This corner can be done
in 4th gear. Some cars may run out of revs in 3rd forcing you
to shift in the middle of the exit zone. Marshal opposite apex.
- Passing zone between 3 and 4--sometimes only advanced students
may pass here. Ask your instructor. Try to get passing done quickly
so drivers can get back on line.
- 4: Stay in the middle of road. Stay away
from the right side of road--off camber. Get braking done very
early (before the beginning of the downhill) and come off the
brakes gently--don't let the back end of the car jitter. Absolutely
no trail braking here! Apply steadily increasing power smoothly
down the hill. Again, it settles the car, gets more grip in the
back end (ordinarily light going down a hill). It's scary but
you can be full throttle at the bottom. Don't jab throttle (at
top of hill) in a high-powered car (e.g. a C4) so to avoid wheel-spin.
This makes 4 the fastest corner on the track. Apex used to be
blind but corner "opens up" now with trees removed--people
now often turn-in too early. The old overhead foot bridge is
gone. If you're into the throttle hard down the hill then, of
course, this builds the speed dramatically so you'll need to
brake very hard (hardest point at Mosport) into 5a. Turn tight
into the apex/exit of 4, you'll be tight to the left edge of
the road! Walls bracket track. 4th gear.
- There's new asphalt at the outside edge of corner 4. We don't
use this! This is here for the racers dogfighting through corners
4 and 5. It gives them more room to play. The driving school
line is the same: position car mid-track cresting the hill into
4 between the left and right edges, get braking done early (before
beginning to fall down the hill) and smoothly (lift off brakes
super-smooth), make a late apex of four so to set up for a slightly
earlier turn-in for 5.
- 5: Brake very hard in perfectly straight
line--don't do anything else. This is the deepest braking on
the track. Get into 3rd when revs are down. Gravity will help
you as the road, at turn-in, is very steep (climbs approx. 9
metres or 35 feet!). 5a is 3rd gear corner at high speed. If
you can get the braking down soon enough, you can power on up
the hill which helps stabilize the back end. With the correct
turn-in you can almost hold the wheel frozen through 5b ("Moss
Corner"). Try to make 5a, 5b, 5c a smooth arc for a low
powered cars; high powered (i.e. 400 hp) cars should late apex
5b to get the power down sooner. Many drivers will shift to 2nd
between 5a and b. A little tap at 5b turn-in might help the fronts
bite. Outside or wide lines in 5A and 5B a bit treacherous with
marbles and gravel. Tire-wall between a and b. Marshal between
a and b, outside. This 4, 5a, b, c sequence becomes very technical
at high speed! 5c is a slight kink to the left (Verville calls
this corner 6).
- Generally, the track is a full car width wider through A
and B. During races this will permit more passing. Given the
new wider track, existing elevation changes, the speed which
one can carry through here, we saw a number of different lines
being tried.
- In the classroom a wide line through A (sacrificing the apex)
was encouraged, so to set up better for B. In theory, this lets
the driver get the car more to the left and straighter for the
turn-in of B.
- I myself (in a RWD low-powered car) performed a similar turn-in
(position and amount) to last year, but made a slightly gentler
arc and used the new A apex. I unwound after the A apex to let
car track out to the original turtles; then I dialled in a hard
turn-in, aiming for the new B apex area, making the apex as late
as possible. I squeezed in as much throttle as possible before
the apex. The track was slick here from dust, marbles, and new
surface material so I was ready for oversteer correction.
- An aggressive style (for very advanced drivers) is the use
minimal braking into 5A, let the car hop up over the hill, produce
a very wide slip angle between A and B, so to point the car into
B, then get hard into the throttle through B and power-drift
out. Tail-happy cars or slick conditions will result in spins.
- Now 5 feels slightly faster than the old configuration. Even
a small RPM or speed improvement here will multiply at the top
of the back straight.
- 6, 7: Nothing special, just 9° and 16°
turns. Low-powered cars labour up the long climb--listen to the
radio if you're bored! Marshal between 5c and 6, outside, and
at 7. The straight-away ends in a slight hump which was recently
lowered or smoothed. Between 5 and 8 is a good time to check
the gauges, listen for rattles, and settle yourself down.
- General passing zone between 5 and 8. Between 7 and 8 is
historically called the "Mario Andretti Straight-away,"
casually called the "back straight."
- 8: A long sweeper, slightly uphill. You
can carry a lot of speed through here (more than initially you
think), take it at 4th gear. Huge (new gravel) run-off beyond
turn-in and apex. Short hard brake after the hump--ease off the
brakes smoothly. Some drivers take this quite wide while others
turn in well before the corner and get in tight on the turtles
to make a much bigger arc. The "school line" apex is
quite late--after 2/3rds of the corner. Look ahead. In acceleration
zone of 8, add a little burst of power to point into exit of
8. Try to get parallel and real close to right edge, in fact,
you can run off the edge of the turtles after apex of 8. Brake
medium in straight line at exit and get smoothly but quickly
into 3rd gear. Then immediately turn in for 9. Corners 8, 9,
and 10 are a combo, 8 and 9 called "The Esses."
- 9: Balance zone can be very slick in wet.
In the dry, get hard into the accelerator all the way through
the turn (not something you cannot usually do). Small gravel
run-off beyond apex. Try to stay to the left after the apex to
improve setup into 10. It's okay to swing out a bit right after
the apex. Many cars will be run up onto the smooth turtles. 3rd
gear. Marshal at apex.
There's new pavement beginning at the apex of 9 running through
to the turn-in of 10. This permits an even later apex through
9 so some drivers now delay the turn-in for 9.
The pavement was torn up here early in the year so harder concrete
patches have been laid down through the apex. Be careful on these
in the wet...
10: "White's Corner." Slow corner,
uphill. Late apex is safe; a very early apex can be bad, scrubs
off too much speed, the exit turtles are harsh. A couple of pavement
changes, some concrete at the apex, can be very slick in the
wet, be ready for snappy oversteer. Aggressive throttle (even
in average rear-drive car) can cause wheel- then car-spin. 2nd
or 3rd gear. Ordinarily in the dry this corner can be taken remarkably
fast with just a brush on the brakes. The turtles at the apex
are smooth and show a lot of black from drivers running over
them. Exits onto front straight. Marshal before exit, outside.
Again this new pavement at the outside of the track between 9
and 10 permits the car to be positioned a full width left of
the former position. This permits a more gradual turn-in and
a later (and much safer) apex through 10. This bigger radius
makes 10 a faster corner now.
- General passing zone between 10 and 1 on the front start.
Try to get passing done quickly so you can get back on line,
i.e. lift!
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