crease-guard

Went with The Drivers Edge HPDE group for both days this weekend. Saturday started out wet and humid. Luckily, the track started drying out by the third session. I changed to A6 scrubs by the fourth session and my lap times were improving.

Sunday was forecast to be cold and wet...not what we wanted. However, the track Gods smiled upon us yesterday and gave us cold, windy and sunny..NO RAIN.

Track is very technical and very demanding on the brakes. I never went past 8/10 as we, as a group, were being watched very closely. The have some 40+ cameras that can see every square inch of the track and they were watching. Watching to see if renting out the track to us was a good idea. No major incidents, some cars got flat bedded off (all Corvettes from what I saw) a couple got towed off ( I was one of those second lap into the first session on Saturday...I was not happy).

By Sunday I was getting the line down. By that I mean I knew where the line was...not sure I was ever on the proper line but had one hell of a time trying. Worth the hassle and rules. The track people were just awesome, very nice, friendly and just had that good ole Texas hospitality. I will go back any and every chance I can.

Video of my last session yesterday with my best lap time:


Jay

Bill Dearborn

Is it just my impression from watching a 2D video that it is hard to tell just exactly how quickly you are coming up on a turn or is there some difficulty orienting yourself on the track. Everything seems to be so wide with no reference marks other than paint colors changing.

Bill

sperkins

I thought all COTA events were cancelled?

Screamin Z

This one and one other were not cancelled due to signed contracts.

rithsleeper

What do you mean by you never went past 8/10?

Screamin Z

He didnt go.. flat out.. 10/10

crease-guard

No, that's how the track is. Lot's of blind apexes and corners and there just aren't solid reference points. I started using peripheral vision marks as reference points. Much harder to do and as you can tell, I miss apexes right and left...and enjoyed every minute of it You have to anticipate where your turn in and track out will be. A few times around the track and you start to get a feel for it. I haven't driven many tracks but this one was WAY different from other tracks.

Jay

CorvetteZ51Racer

Jay is spot on - between the track width, runoff room, terrain, and lack of surrounding infrastructure there are few reference points. Then combine that with blind apexes at 3 and 17, blind track-outs at 9, 10, and 18, it's a tough track. But that's also what makes it fun.

RDnomorecobra

that looks awesome. i'd have to watch a lot of video before heading there.

crease-guard

You can watch all the video and could spend hours describing stuff...it will show you the line but it doesn't give you a feel for it until you are in the seat. I recall some interview folks at F1 talking to Hamilton about the track and he was stating he did some sim time but once out on the track, things were different.

I watched every video I could find before going. It does help but I was so in awe I forgot everything I watched for the first 2 sessions. By the third session I finally started remembering how to drive and things started clicking little by little. I knew where I should be but wasn't always there.

Turn 3 is a prime example. It's a blind apex and you have to start your turn in before you really see the apex. It sets you up for the Esses. If you aren't in the right spot, then next two esses you are correcting your mistake and you have to bleed off so much speed to do so, you loose a ton of time. But, if you hit it right, you go through the esses smooth and fast and it sets you up for turns 9, 10 and 11.

I was experimenting going through turns 3-9 with throttle modulation and very soft left foot braking when I felt I had too much speed going into a corner. Just a hint of brake to settle the front end back down and then back on the gas gently. I don't think I ever got it right and after watching the video, I was in the wrong gear going through turns 7, 8 and 9. I should have downshifted into 2nd as that sequence is uphill. I didn't realize how uphill it was until the 3rd session on Sunday.

I'm still learning, only been doing this a little under 2 years. This track made me realize I've got more to learn...but that's the fun of it. I'm at the point right now where I'm starting to realize what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong.

Jay

Bowchickawowow

Nice driving. I drove on Saturday and found the track to be pretty sticky in the rain, even on NT05s. It was a ton of fun, even with the looming thought of $$$$$$/sq. ft. for off-track damage!

QUIKAG

Great vid! I like the overlay. I agree the track was very technical, challenging, fast, but very smooth. Best track I've ever driven on by far.

crease-guard

I was scared to death I would break something on that track and have to file for bankruptcy because of it. One it dried out I felt better about not spinning and going off, I still kept it dialed back though.

Jay

dfinke23

What camera/overlay system were you using?

crease-guard

The camera is a GoPro II, the lap timer is Race Chrono and the software used to render is called Race Render. Very easy to use and very customizable.

briank17

Looks like the grandstand seats have been removed from turn 11, Odd.

crease-guard

Not just turn 11 but ALL the grandstand seats are gone except the PSL seats in Turn 15 and along the main straight. Even the Suites along turns 13 and 14 are gone.

I was getting a tour from one of the sales people on Saturday and I asked him about this. He said their plan is to only have those during the F1. There's a company that comes in, sets them up and then takes them down when it's done. Says is cheaper than building permanent fixtures.

I was pretty shocked by that as well. I figured the long term cost would be greater. He said the turn 15 seats were originally planned to be temp as well but they decided to keep those.