Competition Road Course Turn-by-Turn description

For consistency, Turn 1 on the new 2.5-mile Competition Road Course is the same as Turn 1 on the three-mile road course. Turn 1 is a narrow but very high-speed banked right-hand 60-degree turn, which is intended be taken flat out by all vehicles. You can go through Turn 1 pretty much anywhere on the width of the track, although you will scrub off less speed if you are alone and can take the “classic” maximum-radius line through the corner.

Following Turn 1 is a straight that’s long enough for you to regain most or all of the speed you scrubbed off in Turn 1. Turn 2 is a flat (but wider radius than Turn 1) and very high-speed right-hand 80-degree sweeper that can be taken flat out by many vehicles. The track is widened at the exit of Turn 2 but only for a short distance. There is a long, generally flat runoff area at the exit of 2, with a robust tire wall just short of the trees. Following Turn 2 is another straight, again long enough for you to regain much of the speed you scrubbed off on 2.

You should be able to attain your top speed coming into Turn 2 and possibly into Turn 3. Maintaining a high speed in this part of the course is crucial to good lap times. Just be sure not to overstress your engine. You will be spending a lot of time at max revs, and turning hard right, so be sure your oil pickup is properly located.

Turn 3 is slow only by comparison with the two previous turns, but many drivers don't brake properly for it (after all, it’s your first chance to use the brakes for over a mile, and they will be well cooled). Turn 3 is a 130-degree right-hand turn with a curb at the exit. Following Turn 3 is a short straight leading into the left-hand Turn 4. Turns 4, 5 and 6 are a set of esses with progressively longer straight stretches following them, and curbs at the exits of all three. Turn 4 is about a 100-degree left-hand turn, slightly faster then Turn 3. Turns 5 and 6 are 90-degree right and left turns, respectively, both a little slower than Turn 4. The turns in the esses are far enough apart that you can easily get back across the track each time, and you may even recover enough speed that you need to change gears up and down between them (this more likely coming out of 5 and 6, if you change up and back down between 4 and 5 you may be geared wrong).

Look for slightly widened track surfaces at the entrance to all these turns. They may help you but watch out for Turn 6, where using the widened entry will likely cause you to apex too early.

Turn 7 is a higher-speed left-hand 45-degree turn that is followed very closely by Turn 8, which we have named the Clover Leaf. It’s a 300-degree corner that keeps turning, allowing you to hang on your car’s threshold throughout the entire turn.

Turn 9 is a gradual left leading to left-turn Turn 10. Pit-in is “off line” and to the left between Turns 10 and 11.

Turn 11 is an increasing radius corner right. A 1,000-foot straight takes you to the 90 left Turn 12. Pit-out merges on to the track just after Turn 12 to allow merging traffic to more easily match the speed of the cars on track.

From Turn 12, a short 700-foot straight leads under the bridge to a decreasing radius Turn 13 right. It’s about 1,400 feet back to Turn 1, where cars should still maintain a high rate of speed as they hit the banked corner.