MILESTONE
This guide was originally submitted December 25, 2002,
exactly two years after the submission of my first-ever game
guide (Midnight Club: Street Racing - Capture the Flag
Guide). This marks my 99th guide in these two years of
writing, and when my first guide was submitted, I never
dreamed that I would become such an authority figure on
PlayStation and PlayStation2 racing games. Due to support
from readers and other guide writers, I have launched my own
Web site with my guides as well as an e-mail list to inform
others of my writing projects.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the hundreds
of readers who have e-mailed me with suggestions, comments,
criticisms, and even simply short notes of thanks. It is
truly for the readers that I continue to write game guides,
and reader feedback and input is definitely welcome. I
eagerly look forward to the next two (and hopefully more)
years of writing game guides - which will almost certainly be
concentrated within my specialty of auto racing games.
==============================================
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SPACING AND LENGTH
For optimum readability, this driving guide should be
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Check for font setting by making sure the numbers and letters
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This guide is approximately *****150 pages long***** in the
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idea to print this guide in its entirety!!!!!
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INTRODUCTION
Pro Race Driver is definitely an above-average simulation-
style auto racing game. It can best be compared with Gran
Turismo 3 in relation to the number of circuits in the game
(some of which must be unlocked), although Gran Turismo 3
definitely has the upper hand in terms of the photorealistic
graphics and the sheer number of vehicles. However, whereas
Gran Turismo 3 has literally HUNDREDS of races and race
series, there is no connecting thread or storyline to the
game, and this is where Pro Race Driver truly shines.
Pro Race Driver's Career Mode has the player enacting the
racing life of Ryan McKane. The game's opening film
(available in French or in English) shows a young Ryan and
his older brother at a race and watching their near-legendary
father die in a horrifyingly terrible accident. Fifteen
years later, Ryan gets his first shot at a big-time auto
racing series (Americas Series). All this is done with nice
cinematic cutscenes which sometimes includes cutscenes with
rival drivers and team managers based upon the on-track
racing actions.
With forty-two licensed cars as well as thirty-eight licensed
circuits from around the world, Ryan will have A LOT to
overcome (including - and perhaps ESPECIALLY - his own ego)
to become a legendary race car driver in his own right,
surpassing even the racing community's high expectations of
his deceased father.
Please note that some of the information in this guide comes
from my General Racing/Driving Guide, Total Immersion Racing:
Game Guide, and World-famous Racing Circuits Guide - which
can all be found in full at FeatherGuides
(http://feathersites.angelcities.com) and at GameFAQs
(http://www.GameFAQs.com/); the General Racing/Driving Guide
and the World-famous Racing Circuits Guide are exclusive to
these two sites.
GETTING STARTED
There is certainly A LOT to Pro Race Driver, and it may be a
bit difficult for the player to decide exactly where to
begin. Without question, once past the opening cutscenes for
the game, the player should set the game options and
controller setting to the desired liking. Once this is done,
the player should probably go into Free Time, the room where
the drivers simply 'hang around' when there is nothing
officially racing-related to do.
To get a good feel for how the game works and plays, the
player should go to Free Race. Here, there are two 'sets' of
circuits on the Tracks of the World menu selection screen.
The top of this screen shows race venues using the order of
the racing series in which they are used; circuits selected
from within a race series will also have only series-specific
vehicles on the upcoming vehicle selection screen (note that
some race venues are used in multiple race series). The
bottom of the Tracks of the World screen lists ALL the race
circuits available in the Freestyle section; when a race
venue is selected from Freestyle, then the initially-
available and unlocked cars appropriate for the selected
circuit(s) are available from the vehicle selection screen.
Vehicle selection is done by picking the car key for the
vehicle the player wishes to drive; only those vehicles
specific to the chosen race venue or series will be
available. Next, options can be made, such as the
transmission type, the vehicle color (unfortunately, this is
not available for all cars, likely due to vehicle licensing
issues), etc. Finally, it is time to head to the circuit!!!
Now the player is shown the garage at the circuit.
Unfortunately, Pro Race Driver does not include qualifying
(which is the one major downfall of this game), so the player
is stuck with wherever she or he is placed on the starting
grid by the CPU; this can be noted before the race by
selecting Grid Positions. Selecting Car Setup/Test Drive
will allow the player to change the various aspects of each
car, from downforce to gear ratios (combined or individually)
to brake bias to ride height to tires and beyond (there are
not as many tuning options in Pro Race Driver as in Gran
Turismo 3, but there are definitely more than enough to keep
the player quite interested); car set-up changes can be
tested using Test Drive, but the player will unfortunately be
the only one on the circuit, so there is no opportunity to
determine how the vehicle will handle in traffic. When
ready, the player can go to Race to line up on the starting
grid for the race itself - bonne chance!!!!!
After competing in several races at favorite race venues, the
player should probably go back to the Tracks of the World
screen and become familiar with the three Americas Series
venues: Mexico, Sears Point, and Vancouver. This is because
the Americas Series is where Ryan McKane will always begin
when a new Career Mode profile is created. Mexico and
Vancouver are current CART circuits, whereas Sears Point is
perhaps best known in the States as one of the two road
courses used by NASCAR.
Once the player clears the Americas Series in Career Mode,
the player will then have access to all the other Tier 1
racing series (TOCA, Southern European, etc.). Before
progressing to each of the other racing series, the player
would benefit greatly from returning to Free Race and
participating in races at the circuits used in the series the
player wishes to participate in next. This is important even
if the player is very familiar with given race venues from
other racing games, as each game has its own idiosyncrasies
in relation to circuit design, car handling, etc. This is
ESPECIALLY important for those highly familiar with F1-based
racing games, as F1 cars have FAR more power, agility, and
braking ability than any of the cars used in Pro Race Driver.
One other benefit of participating in races at the circuits
used in the series the player wishes to participate in next
is to conduct car tuning for each circuit. There are thirty-
two slots available in Pro Race Driver for saving car set-
ups, and set-ups are all available for Free Race Mode AND
Career Mode. So long as the player uses the same model of
vehicle in Free Race Mode and in Career Mode for a given
circuit, the car set-up can be saved and loaded at will.
This way, when the player finally begins to work through
Career Mode, there will not be a need to spend a lot of time
trying to find the appropriate car set-up for each race
venue.
==============================================
CAREER MODE
This is the main feature of Pro Race Driver, and where the
player will likely spend the majority of gameplay (although
Free Race Mode certainly has its own appeal). After a
cutscene to introduce Ryan McKane and his entry into high-
level auto racing, he is thrust directly into the Americas
Series, which races at Mexico, Sears Point, and Vancouver.
However, he must first pass a test drive at Mexico - and the
target time is set high enough that Ryan can have one or two
off-course excursions and still successfully land the drive
for the season. This is a series of six races - two races
per venue - and the player must attain at least thirty
championship points in order to unlock ALL the Tier 1 races
and gain a $100,000 bonus for the season.
Once the Americas Series has been successfully completed,
Ryan can then go to any of the other racing series in Tier 1.
This is done via e-mail, with various racing teams from
various racing series offering either a test drive or a
direct ride for their series. Before selecting a
team/series, the player should probably exit Career Mode and
return to Free Race to participate in 'meaningless' races at
the race venues in a series in which the player wishes to
compete, in order to become more familiar with the rendition
of each of those circuits in Pro Race Driver. When ready,
the player can return to Career Mode, select the appropriate
e-mail, and enter the desired series with a better idea of
what to expect from each circuit in the chosen race series.
(See the Race Circuits in Pro Race Driver section later in
this guide for a list of all the race circuits used in each
series.)
Each Career Mode race series awards points to most or all of
the competitors. The number of competitors WHO FINISH A RACE
receiving points and the number of points each of these
competitors receives varies by race series. These points are
all combined throughout the series, so that the driver with
the most points at the end of a race series will be that
season's series champion. Should Ryan McKane become a
season's series champion, he will be shown (in a cutscene)
accepting that series' championship trophy.
At times, depending on how Ryan performs in a series, there
will be individual challenges from other drivers. If
accepted, these are head-to-head events in identical cars
(differing only by color). Should Ryan win, he will be able
to keep the cars for later usage in the game.
Also based upon in-series performance, Ryan may receive e-
mails concerning one-time races, or Single-day Events. These
events also award points, which count toward the total career
points.
A minimum of 132 career points in the Tier 1 race series are
required to unlock the Tier 2 race series and their
associated race venues; a minimum of 162 career points in the
Tier 2 race series are required to unlock the Lola
Championship. The trick here, however, is that if a race
series is run multiple times, only the highest single-season
point total is counted toward the overall career points.
Therefore, unless a player really enjoys a particular race
series, a series should not be repeated unless the player
believes that she or he has an excellent chance at bettering
the current series 'high score' in terms of single-season
points (or unless the player is Michael Schumacher
himself!!!!!).
When the Tier 2 race series are unlocked, Ryan McKane
automatically has only one series offer: DTM. This begins
with a test drive at Hockenheim Short. Once again, the
target time is set high enough that Ryan can make one or two
mistakes and still best the target time with plenty of time
to spare. However, it is still a good idea to go to Free
Race Mode and compete in a few races in the DTM series (using
series-specific vehicles) before embarking upon the DTM
series in Career Mode.
Note that there are two types of test drives to earn a ride
for a series. The first type is similar to those mentioned
above: Ryan must complete a lap at a given circuit within a
specified amount of time, and has a certain number of
attempts in which to accomplish this task. The second type
of test drive is actually a one-lap race (similar to the
Single Day Events); in this case, Ryan must finish the race
at or better than the specified position, and within the
allotted number of attempts. Except for when first entering
a new tier of events, there may not even be a need for a test
drive of either type, depending on how Ryan was able to
perform in the previous series' season.
Fortunately, it is possible to obtain enough career points to
advance to Tier 2 without competing in all the Tier 1 race
series. Unfortunately, however, once in Tier 2, the game
will not permit a return to Tier 1 without first beating the
Lola series.
Success in Tier 1 is largely based upon car set-up (tuning).
Success in Tier 2 is a combination of car set-up with
PRECISION throttle and braking management (especially
throttle management) as well as navigation of the overly-
aggressive CPU-controlled competition.
Most race series and Single Day Events in Pro Race Driver use
the pre-2003 FIA points system. In this points system, only
the top six drivers WHO ACTUALLY FINISH A RACE will receive
points in the order shown below (some race series will use a
different points system; those who do not finish a race
receive no points even if they are in the Top 6 in the final
race results):
Note that at the end of a series, should Ryan McKane be tied
with another driver for the championship, the CPU still
credits Ryan with winning the series championship 'outright.'
In other words, the trophy presentation cutscene for that
series is still played. (There are apparently no tiebreaker
rules such as most wins, better qualifying positions, etc.)
==============================================
MANDATORY PIT STOPS
Some Career Mode races - as well as those Free Race Mode
races for which the player specifies pit stops - have a
mandatory pit stop rule. In these races, the mandatory pit
stop MUST be made in the middle 60% of the race. This means
that should the player need to stop to repair damage before
the first 20% of the race has been completed, that stop will
NOT count as the mandatory pit stop and the player will be
required to make a return trip to Pit Lane in the middle 60%
of the race.
There are several tactics concerning when to make the
mandatory pit stop. One is to do it as soon as the middle
60% window opens (at the end of Lap 2 in a typical 5-lap
mandatory-pit-stop race in Career Mode); this way, the
mandatory pit stop is done; however, many competitors will
also use this tactic, so Pit Lane could be rather busy with
cars entering and exiting their pit stalls, and it makes the
on-track action even more important.
Another tactic is to wait until the final lap of the 60%
window (at the end of Lap 4 in a typical 5-lap mandatory-pit-
stop race in Career Mode). The advantage to this is that
there will be few (if any) other cars in Pit Lane at the same
time, and since most CPU-controlled competitors 'prefer' to
make the mandatory pit stop earlier in the 60% window, there
will be a much higher chance that the player will not need to
deal with any traffic (unless lapping backmarkers, which will
be rather unlikely in Career Mode's Tier 1 and Tier 2 race
series), and thus should be able to run a number of fast lap
times to attain or extend the overall lead once all of the
mandatory pit stops have been made.
A second advantage of waiting to conduct the mandatory pit
stop close to the end of the 60% window concerns vehicle
damage. If the mandatory pit stop is conducted early in the
60% window and the vehicle later becomes severely damaged, it
may be necessary to return to Pit Lane to make repairs, which
almost always results in losing the race (and quite likely
not gaining even a single point for the race). If the
mandatory pit stop is conducted near the end of the 60%
window, then the player should hopefully have a far enough
lead over the rest of the field (once all mandatory pit stops
have been completed) that she or he can still finish first,
or at least finish somewhat high in the points.
There is one major 'flaw' in making a pit stop, however,
whether mandatory or not. When the player's car enters Pit
Lane, the CPU automatically takes over car control and does
not relinquish this control until the car is once again
squarely on the actual raceway (not the Pit Exit lane, but
the actual raceway itself). Where this could be a problem is
if one or more competitors already on the main raceway come
up FAST behind the player's car and slam into the player's
vehicle; the CPU-controlled competition, therefore, will do
everything possible to maintain its own racing line
irregardless of the player's control or lack of control when
rejoining the race after a pit stop.
RACE CIRCUITS IN PRO RACE DRIVER
This is a list of the race circuits available - by series -
in Pro Race Driver. Those circuits/series which must be
unlocked (by progressing through Career Mode) are so noted;
only the Tier 1 series and circuit are originally available
in the game. While Free Race Mode allows racing at any of
the unlocked circuits in any of the unlocked series, Ryan
McKane will ALWAYS begin with the Americas Series when a new
Career Mode profile is created. (Also, Ryan will ALWAYS
begin with DTM once Tier 2 becomes available.)
Series Circuits Used
--------------------------- ------------------------------
Americas Series Mexico
Sears Point
Vancouver
AAS (American All Stars) Charlotte
Bristol
Sears Point
Las Vegas
V8 Supercars (Initially Phillip Island
locked) Adelaide
Eastern Creek
Canberra
Bathurst
Sandown
Oran Park
TOCA Brands Hatch Indy
Oulton Park
Silverstone
Donington Park
Knockhill
Brands Hatch Grand Prix
Alfa GTV Cup Monza
Vallelunga
Catalunya
Pacific Challenge Fuji
T1 Circuit AIDA
Bathurst
Southern European Challenge Dijon Prenois
Magny-Cours
Catalunya
Northern European Challenge Mantorp Park
Zolder
Oschersleben
A1 Ring
DTM (initially locked) Hockenheim Short
Nurburgring
Oschersleben
Norisring
Zandvoort
Hockenheim Long
Euro Tour (initially locked) Rockingham Oval
A1 Ring
Rockingham Road
Brands Hatch Indy
Catalunya
Lola (initially locked) ???
Freestyle All above circuits which are
initially-available or have
been unlocked by progressing
through Career Mode
Single Day Events These take place at circuits
where Ryan has already raced
Head-to-head Challenges These take place at circuits
where Ryan has already raced
==============================================
BONUS CODES
There are several bonus codes available for Pro Race Driver.
These are entered in the Bonus folder of the Options file
cabinet. Codemasters provides two bonus codes simply for
registering for both the game and Code M (Codemasters' online
newsletter concerning its current and upcoming games,
combined with its special members-only section of the
Codemasters Web site); without giving anything away
(hopefully), these two bonus codes definitely make the game a
little more challenging, especially on tight street circuits
such as Vancouver.
Note that the physics engine for Pro Race Driver is not
really conducive for oval track racing, especially in the
American All Stars (AAS) racing series (in Tier 2). The
second of the codes received for registering (as listed in
the above paragraph) can be activated to make the American
All Stars series MUCH easier - and can also allow for
relatively easy wins, making it QUITE possible to win EVERY
race in the series :-)
Unfortunately, the North American version of the game has one
severe problem: THERE ARE NO NUMBERS ON THE CODE-ENTRY SCREEN
TO INPUT THE NUMBER-BASED CODES GIVEN ON THE PRO RACE DRIVER
TIP LINE >:-( The only codes which CAN be entered into the
North American version of the game are the text-based codes
received by registering with Codemasters as indicated above.
==============================================
GENERAL TIPS
Save game progress at every opportunity. In Career Mode,
this occurs after every head-to-head event and Single Day
Event, and after every TWO races within a race series.
Pro Race Driver does not use rules; in other words, there are
no official repercussions (such as ten-second penalties or
immediate disqualifications) for unsportsmanlike or dangerous
driving, shortcutting corners, etc. Many corners (especially
chicanes) do have barriers to ensure that all drivers
(including the player) keep to the racing line, and there are
plenty of sand traps and gravel traps to significantly slow
cars which go off-line at many corners, but this is really
the extent of the implementation of any 'rules' in Pro Race
Driver. Note, however, that it is DEFINITELY possible (and
highly likely) to anger the CPU-controlled competition
through blocking, swapping paint, etc.; some drivers may even
develop a deep-rooted grudge against the player and take
extreme measures to attempt to knock the player's vehicle out
of the way or foil the player's chances of winning a race
and/or a championship in the given car class.
The PlayStation2 features 256 levels of button sensitivity
(for the X, Square, Circle, and Triangle buttons), and Pro
Race Driver makes definite use of this feature (but
fortunately NOT to the extreme of Total Immersion Racing).
Pressing harder on the accelerator button (set to the X
button as the default) will provide faster acceleration;
pressing harder on the brake button (set to the Square button
as the default) will provide harder braking. (However, in
the quest for harder braking, it is important to never brake
too hard, as this will cause wheel-lock and cause the vehicle
to slide and NOT decelerate.)
Pro Race Driver seems to be best suited to a player who
prefers a slightly- to somewhat-loose car, meaning that the
back end tends to swing about. This means that drift-style
racing is quite feasible for those skilled in this highly-
specialized driving technique, and that plenty of
countersteering will be required at most race venues.
However, there are certainly enough tuning parameters that a
player with good knowledge of car tuning can truly adapt
virtually any vehicle in the game to a given circuit.
Auto racing is largely dependent upon racing line, braking
zones, braking strength, and acceleration strength. Pro Race
Driver very much places these four prime elements of auto
racing into play. Certainly, a car's set-up can affect a
player's race, but the way that the player uses these four
areas to make the most of a car's set-up is key to success...
moreso than in many other auto racing games due to the
construction of the physics engine.
It IS possible to take a corner so quickly that a car goes up
on two wheels. While this is a bit difficult to do, it is
also possible to cause a vehicle to flip and roll.
Pro Race Driver allows for a total of 32 car set-ups to be
saved on the memory card in Memory Card Slot 1. If there is
more than one Career Mode game saved on the memory card, the
saved car set-ups can ALL be accessed from within ANY of the
Career Mode game saves. In other words, car set-ups are NOT
career-independent.
Before progressing to each of the racing series in Career
Mode, the player would benefit greatly from going to Free
Race and participating in races at the circuits used in the
series the player wishes to participate in next. This is
important even if the player is very familiar with given race
venues from other racing games, as each game has its own
idiosyncrasies in relation to circuit design, car handling,
etc. This is ESPECIALLY important for those highly familiar
with F1-based racing games, as F1 cars have FAR more power,
agility, and braking ability than any of the cars used in Pro
Race Driver.
Before beginning any Tier 2 series in Career Mode, it is best
to go to Free Race Mode and compete in a Tier 2 series (such
as DTM) using that series' racecars. This is important
because these cars have MUCH more power and attain MUCH
higher speeds than those for Tier 1. What makes this
especially important in Pro Race Driver is that this game
apparently does NOT use a one-size-fits-all physics engine,
unlike games such as Total Immersion Racing, Gran Turismo 3,
Le Mans 24 Hours, or Tokyo Extreme Racer Zero despite the
vast differences in the games' many cars. Therefore, trying
to drive a Tier 2 vehicle in the same manner as a Tier 1 car
will result in near-complete destruction of the vehicle.
For those players who have driven these circuits in other
racing games and/or with other vehicles, it is important to
remember that braking zones and acceleration points do not
generally 'convert' well from one racing game to another and
from one vehicle (type) to another.
CAR TUNING
In order to be successful in Pro Race Driver, the player must
have a strong sense of car tuning. While a car may perform
okay in its default/stock set-up, each vehicle needs to be
tuned specifically for each circuit in order to truly get the
best possible performance and thus have the best possible
chance at winning each race.
Gears
Transmission Gear selection can be set to automatic (the
CPU handles all shifting duties) or manual
(the player must handle all shifting
duties). If the player uses automatic
transmission, then the shoulder buttons
originally assigned to gear shifting (for
manual transmission) are instead used to
provide the player with a view of each side
of the vehicle; this can be important to
see the extent of the damage to the vehicle
when using a chase camera view in gameplay.
When using a driver (in-car) view in
gameplay, these buttons (if automatic
transmission has been selected) instead
allow Ryan McKane to glance to either side
of the car; this can be useful in passing
other vehicles.
Ratios In Pro Race Driver, each individual gear
can be set independently, or all gears can
be highlighted at once for overall
adjustments. Shortening gear ratios
(moving the curved lines to the left) will
provide better acceleration at the
sacrifice of top-end speed; this is ideal
for tight, technical circuits such as
Bristol. Lengthening gear ratios (moving
the curved lines to the right) will
provide better/faster top-end speed at the
sacrifice of acceleration (i.e., slower
acceleration, especially from a standing
start and when exiting the pit stall);
longer gear ratios are crucial to circuits
with few corners and/or many long
straightaways, such as Hockenheim Long and
Monza.
Downforce Downforce controls how the air passes over
and around the vehicle, and helps to keep a
car firmly on the ground (the opposite
effect of wings from an airplane). Raising
downforce will provide better pavement grip
and easier cornering, but at the sacrifice
of top-end speed; this is best for tight,
technical circuits such as Zandvoort.
Lowering downforce will reduce pavement
grip and provide better/faster top-end
speed, but cornering will be more
difficult (and the vehicle may have a much
greater tendency to slide while cornering,
especially at high speeds); this is best
for circuits with few corners and/or many
long straightaways, such as Hockenheim
Long and Monza.
Suspension
Stiffness Softening a vehicle's suspension will allow
for a much smoother ride overall and will
also help with cornering, but the car is
then more prone to flipping when cornering
at high speeds or performing sudden evasive
maneuvers. Hardening a vehicle's
suspension will cause the driver to feel
virtually every possible bump in the
pavement and will also make cornering more
difficult (especially at high speeds).
Ride Height Ride height controls airflow underneath a
vehicle. Raising ride height will allow
for more air to pass underneath the
vehicle, thus slowing the car moderately
due to aerodynamic friction and also
assisting slightly in cornering. Lowering
ride height will reduce the amount of air
passing underneath the vehicle, thus
slightly augmenting top-end speed while
also making cornering moderately more
difficult.
Anti-roll Anti-roll devices are designed to prevent
the vehicle from flipping. Strengthening
the anti-roll devices will reduce the
chances that the car may flip during high-
speed cornering and evasive maneuvers; this
will also make cornering more difficult in
general. Softening the anti-roll devices
will make flipping a stronger possibility,
but will also make cornering easier.
Brake Bias Braking can be applied more toward the
front or the rear of the vehicle. However,
moving the brake bias more toward one end
of the car makes wheel-lock a stronger
possibility for those wheels.
Tires In Pro Race Driver, the pit crew will
automatically apply the type of tire
appropriate for the racing conditions;
however, the player can override the
pit crew's decision. Slicks are for
dry-conditions racing. Intermediates
are for use when the pavement is damp but
not really wet (as in a slow, gentle
drizzle). Wets are used during hard
rain and in the period immediately
following actual rainfall.
It is VERY rare that the player can only adjust the tuning of
one aspect of the car without causing one or more parts of
the car set-up to be out of balance. For example, for racing
at Monza, the downforce and ride height should both be
lowered as much as possible; to counterbalance the cornering
difficulty inherent with these downforce and ride height
settings, anti-roll and suspension stiffness should both also
be lowered as much as possible to lessen (although not
necessarily eliminate) the difficulty in cornering.
Pro Race Driver allows for a total of 32 car set-ups to be
saved on the memory card in Memory Card Slot 1. If there is
more than one Career Mode game saved on the memory card, the
saved car set-ups can ALL be accessed from within ANY of the
Career Mode game saves. In other words, car set-ups are NOT
career-independent.
BRAKING
The first step in driving fast is knowing when, where, and
how much to slow down (braking). In some games, a brake
controller can be acquired or purchased, allowing the player
to customize the brake strength by axle or by adjusting the
bias of the brakes toward the front or the rear of the car.
The use of a brake controller will affect the braking zone,
as will other factors. Specifically, the car's speed on
approaching a corner, the amount of fuel in the car at a
given moment, the drivetrain of the car, the weight of the
car, and even the car's center of gravity can all affect the
braking zone. Similarly, the driving conditions - sunny,
overcast, damp, wet, icy, snowy etc. - will affect the
braking zone for each corner (as well as the car's ability to
attain high speeds).
Except for purely arcade-style games, the braking zone will
differ somewhat for each car depending upon its strengths and
weaknesses. It certainly helps for the player to try a Free
Run or a Time Trial (if these modes exist in a given game) to
learn the circuit(s) - including the braking zones.
When looking for braking zones, try to find a particular
stationary object near the entry of each corner; it helps
tremendously if this object is far enough away from the
circuit that it will not be knocked over during a race. To
begin, try using the brakes when the front of the car is
parallel with the chosen stationary object. If this does not
slow the car enough before corner entry or if the car slows
too much before reaching the corner, pick another stationary
object on the following lap and try again.
Whenever changes are made to the car - whether to the brake
controller or to other aspects of tuning and/or parts - it
would be a good idea to go back into Free Run mode and check
that the braking zones still hold; if not, adjust as
necessary using the method in the paragraph above.
For those races which include fuel loads, the car will become
progressively lighter during a race. The lesser weight can
often mean a slightly shorter braking zone; however, if tire
wear is excessive (especially if there have been numerous
off-course excursions), that might dictate a longer braking
zone.
Cars with a higher horsepower output will inherently attain
faster speeds, and will therefore require a longer braking
zone than cars with a lower horsepower output. Try a
Volkswagon New Beetle, a Mini Cooper, a Dodge Viper, a Panoz
Esperante GT-1, a Corvette C5R, and an F-2002 (all in
stock/base configuration) along the same area of a circuit
and note how their braking zones differ.
A final note on braking: To the extent possible, ALWAYS brake
in a straight line. If braking only occurs when cornering,
the car will likely be carrying too much speed for the
corner, resulting in the car sliding, spinning, and/or
flipping. (Some games purposely do not permit the car to
flip, but a slide or spin can still mean the difference
between winning and ending up in last position at the end of
a race.)
If nothing else, players should strive to become of the
'breakers' they possibly can. This will essentially force a
player to become a better racer/driver in general once the
player has overcome the urge to constantly run at top speed
at all times with no regard for damages to self or others.
Also, slowing the car appropriately will make other aspects
of racing/driving easier, especially in J-turns, hairpin
corners, and chicanes.
==============================================
CORNERING
Ideally, the best way to approach a corner is from the
outside of the turn, braking well before entering the corner.
At the apex (the midpoint of the corner), the car should be
right up against the edge of the pavement. On corner exit,
the car drifts back to the outside of the pavement and speeds
off down the straightaway. So, for a right-hand turn of
about ninety degrees, enter the corner from the left, come to
the right to hit the apex, and drift back to the left on
corner exit. See the Diagrams section at the end of this
guide for a sample standard corner.
For corners that are less than ninety degrees, it may be
possible to just barely tap the brakes - if at all - and be
able to clear such corners successfully. However, the same
principles of cornering apply: approach from the outside of
the turn, hit the apex, and drift back outside on corner
exit.
For corners more than ninety degrees but well less than 180
degrees, braking will certainly be required. However, for
these 'J-turns,' the apex of the corner is not the midpoint,
but a point approximately two-thirds of the way around the
corner. J-turns require great familiarity to know when to
begin diving toward the inside of the corner and when to
power to the outside on corner exit. See the Diagrams
section at the end of this guide for a sample J-turn.
Hairpin corners are turns of approximately 180 degrees.
Braking is certainly required before corner entry, and the
cornering process is the same as for standard corners:
Approach from the outside, drift inside to hit the apex
(located at halfway around the corner, or after turning
ninety degrees), and drifting back to the outside on corner
exit. See the Diagrams section at the end of this guide for
a sample hairpin corner.
If there are two corners of approximately ninety degrees each
AND both corners turn in the same direction AND there is only
a VERY brief straightaway between the two corners, they may
be able to be treated like an extended hairpin corner.
Sometimes, however, these 'U-turns' have a straightaway
between the corners that is long enough to prohibit a
hairpin-like treatment; in this case, drifting to the outside
on exiting the first of the two corners will automatically
set up the approach to the next turn. See the Diagrams
section at the end of this guide for a sample U-turn.
FIA (the governing body of F1 racing, World Rally
Championship, and other forms of international motorsport)
seems to love chicanes. One common type of chicane is
essentially a 'quick-flick,' where the circuit quickly edges
off in one direction then realigns itself in a path parallel
to the original stretch of pavement, as in the examples in
the Diagrams section at the end of this guide. Here, the
object is to approach the first corner from the outside, hit
BOTH apexes, and drift to the outside of the second turn.
FIA also seems to like the 'Bus Stop' chicane, which is
essentially just a pair of quick-flicks, with the second
forming the mirror image of the first, as shown in the
Diagrams section at the end of this guide. Perhaps the most
famous Bus Stop chicane is the chicane (which is actually
called the 'Bus Stop Chicane') at Pit Entry at Spa-
Francorchamps, the home of the annual Grand Prix of Belgium
(F1 racing) and the host of The 24 Hours of Spa (for
endurance racing).
Virtually every other type of corner or corner combination
encountered in racing (primarily in road racing) combines
elements of the corners presented above. These complex
corners and chicanes can be challenging, such as the Ascari
chicane at Monza. See the Diagrams section for an idea of
the formation of Ascari.
However, in illegal street/highway racing, the positioning of
traffic can 'create' the various corners and corner
combinations mentioned here. For example, weaving in and out
of traffic creates a virtual bus stop chicane (see the
Diagrams section at the end of this guide). Slowing may be
necessary - it often is - depending on the distance between
the vehicles. See the Sample Circuit Using Some of the Above
Corner Types Combines in the Diagrams section at the end of
this guide; note that this is a diagram for a very technical
circuit.
At some race venues, 'artificial chicanes' may be created by
placing cones and/or (concrete) barriers in the middle of a
straightaway. One such game which used this type of chicane
is the original Formula1 by Psygnosis, an F1-based
PlayStation game from 1995, which used this at Circuit
Gilles-Villeneuve along Casino Straight (shortly after
passing the final grandstands at the exit of Casino Hairpin).
One thing which can change the approach to cornering is the
available vision. Blind and semi-blind corners require
ABSOLUTE knowledge of such corners. Here is where gamers
have an advantage over real-world drivers: Gamers can
(usually) change their viewpoint (camera position), which can
sometimes provide a wider, clearer view of the circuit, which
can be especially important when approaching semi-blind
corners; real-world drivers are obviously inhibited by the
design of their cars and racing helmets. Great examples of
real-world blind and semi-blind corners would be Mulsanne
Hump at Le Mans, Turns 14 and 15 at Albert Park, and each of
the first three corners at A1-Ring.
Also important to cornering - especially with long, extended
corners - is the corner's radius. Most corners use an
identical radius throughout their length. However, some are
increasing-radius corners or decreasing-radius corners.
These corners may require shifting the apex point of a
corner, and almost always result in a change of speed.
Decreasing-radius corners are perhaps the trickiest, because
the angle of the corner becomes sharper, thus generally
requiring more braking as well as more turning of the
steering wheel. Increasing-radius corners are corners for
which the angle becomes more and more gentle as the corner
progresses; this means that drivers will generally accelerate
more, harder, or faster, but such an extra burst of speed can
backfire and require more braking. See the Diagrams section
at the end of this guide for sample images of a decreasing-
radius corner and an increasing-radius corner.
For traditional road racing circuits, increasing-radius and
decreasing-radius corners may not be too much of a problem;
after several laps around one of these circuits, a driver
will know where the braking and acceleration points are as
well as the shifted apex point (should a shift be required).
However, for stage-based rally racing, where the roads are
virtually unknown and the driver knows what is ahead only
because of the navigator's instructions (which - based upon
notes - may or may not be absolutely correct), the unknown
can cause drivers to brake more often and/or more heavily.
For rally-based games, such as the Need for Speed: V-Rally
series (PlayStation/PSOne) or for World Rally Championship
(PlayStation2), there is often specialized vocabulary used:
'tightens' generally designates that a corner has a
decreasing radius, whereas 'widens' or 'opens' indicates that
a corner has an increasing radius. This need for 'extra'
braking is also tempered by the fact that in much of rally
racing, corners are either blind or semi-blind, due to trees,
buildings, cliffs, embankments, and other obstacles to clear
vision all the way around a corner.
One particularly interesting aspect of cornering is one which
I honestly do not know if it works in reality (I am not a
real-world racer, although I would certainly LOVE the chance
to attend a racing school!!!), but which works in numerous
racing/driving games I have played over the years. This
aspect is to use the accelerator to help with quickly and
safely navigating sharp corners. This works by first BRAKING
AS USUAL IN ADVANCE OF THE CORNER, then - once in the corner
itself - rapidly pumping the brakes for the duration of the
corner (or at least until well past the apex of the corner).
The action of rapidly pumping the accelerator appears to
cause the drive wheels to catch the pavement just enough to
help stop or slow a sliding car, causing the non-drive wheels
to continue slipping and the entire car to turn just a little
faster. Using this rapid-pumping technique with the
accelerator does take a little practice initially, and seems
to work best with FR cars; however, once perfected, this
technique can pay dividends, especially with REALLY sharp
hairpin corners, such as at Sebring International Raceway.
==============================================
RUMBLE STRIPS
Depending on car set-up and weather conditions, rumble strips
(sometimes also called 'alligators') can be either useful or
dangerous. The purpose of rumble strips is to provide a few
extra centimeters of semi-racing surface to help keep cars
from dropping wheels off the pavement, which can slow cars
and throw grass and other debris onto the racing surface
(which makes racing a little more dangerous for all involved,
especially in corners). Generally, rumble strips are found
on the outside of a corner at corner entry and corner exit,
and also at the apex of a corner - these locations provide a
slightly better racing line overall.
If a car is set with a very stiff suspension (i.e., there is
not much room for the suspension to move as the car passes
over bumps and other irregularities in the racing surface),
hitting rumble strips can cause the car to jump. Even if
airborne for only a few milliseconds, at speed, it could be
just enough so that the driver loses control of the car.
Obviously, if one or more wheels are not in contact with the
ground, the car is losing speed, which could be just enough
of a mistake for other cars to pass by, and the lack of
contact with the ground could result in excessive wheelspin
which risks to flat-spot the tire(s) when contact is regained
with the ground.
When the racetrack is damp or wet, however, it is generally
best to avoid using the rumble strips. Since rumble strips
are painted (usually red and white), ANY amount of moisture
will make the rumble strips extremely slick as the water
beads on the paint, so that hitting a rumble strip in the
process of cornering (especially at the apex of a corner)
will cause the tire(s) to lose traction and often send the
car spinning.
==============================================
CONCRETE EXTENSIONS
Similar to rumble strips are concrete extensions. These are
generally (much) wider than rumble strips, and may or may not
be painted (at FIA-approved F1 circuits, for example, these
are generally painted green). Also, whereas rumble strips
protrude slightly above the level of the racing surface,
concrete extensions are at the same level as the racing
surface.
Concrete extensions can be used in the same manner as rumble
strips. However, if painted, concrete extensions should be
avoided for the same reasons listed above for rumble strips n
the event of wet or damp racing conditions.
Players should note that in some games - especially where
challenges or license tests are involved - concrete
extensions are often NOT designated as part of the official
track, resulting in an 'Out of Bounds' designation. This is
true, for example, in EA Sports' F1-based series (F1 2000, F1
Championship Season 2000, F1 2001, and F1 2002) and in the
Gran Turismo series.
==============================================
TIRES
As a 2000/2001 Michelin commercial campaign (shown in the
States) stated, the tires are the only safety features on the
road which actually TOUCH the road. Implicit in this series
of commercials is the message that special care must be given
to tires. In the case of Michelin, this means that choosing
Michelin tires is far safer than choosing any other brand of
tires (note that this series of commercials had been running
since LONG before the Firestone/Ford controversy erupted in
2000).
In the case of racing/driving games, this same implicit
message - that the tires are the only safety features on the
road which actually TOUCH the road - means that special care
must be given to the tires to keep them from wearing out too
quickly. Of course, some games (usually arcade-style games,
such as the Ridge Racer series) do not use tire wear. Other
games do offer an array of tires, but simply to provide
higher levels of pavement grip as higher levels of tires are
acquired or purchased (such as Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero).
Other games have races which are simply too short to make
tire wear a viable issue; an example of this type of game
would be Downforce. In general, tire wear is not an issue in
rally racing games.
Some games simply provide Levels of tires. Here, the
assumption is that Level 1 tires provide the least amount of
pavement grip, with higher levels providing more pavement
grip than previous levels. However, many games (especially
simulation-based games such as Le Mans 24 Hours and the Gran
Turismo series) offer several choices of actual tire
compounds.
For non-racing cars intended for mundane street use, Normal
tires are standard issue. While Normal tires may work well
on the highway and on city streets, they are virtually
worthless in an actual racing situation. Normal tires do not
provide adequate grip to be effective in racing. This is
most noticeable when trying to corner at relatively high
speeds with a vehicle with Normal tires.
Simulation tires supposedly give a more accurate feel of what
it is like to drive a racing-tuned car.
Sports tires are a little better than Normal tires. When
first playing a racing/driving game which offers Sports
Tires, one of the best things you can do to improve your
chance of success is to upgrade to Sports Tires as soon as
possible. This will improve cornering ability, and provide a
little more grip for acceleration (especially from a standing
start).
Racing tires come in an array of 'flavors,' with each tire
compound giving a varying level of grip countered by an
inverse level of durability. Not all racing games offer such
a variety of tire compounds from which to choose.
Super-slick Least grip, maximum durability
Slick
Medium-slick
Medium Average grip, average durability
Medium-soft
Soft
Super-soft Maximum grip, least durability
Note that in some games, Slick and Super-slick are more
likely to be called Hard Tires.
Dirt Tires are required for dirt-based rally events. In some
racing games (primarily Gran Turismo 2 and Gran Turismo 3),
some non-racing cars can also be equipped with Dirt Tires -
and in some cases can easily outperform rally-dedicated
vehicles if given proper tuning considerations.
Intermediate Tires are often used in games with varying
weather effects, such as Le Mans 24 Hours. Whereas Normal,
Sport, Super-soft, Soft, Medium-soft, Medium, Medium-slick,
Slick, and Super-slick Tires are designed specifically for
dry racing conditions, Intermediate Tires are generally used
when the pavement is damp. A good indicator as to whether
Intermediate Tires or Wet Tires (see the following paragraph)
should be used is whether there is a large spray of water -
often called a 'rooster tail' - coming up from underneath the
car at high speeds on the straightaways. If there is not a
rooster tail, or if the rooster tail is fairly small, then
Intermediate Tires should be a good choice. Unfortunately,
EA Sports has never included Intermediate Tires in its F1-
based games, despite the fact that Intermediate Tires are
used in real-world F1 racing; Intermediate Tires very much
came into play, for example, at the 2002 Grand Prix of Great
Britain.
Wet Tires are designed for truly wet conditions. A good
indicator as to whether Intermediate Tires (see the preceding
paragraph) or Wet Tires should be used is whether there is a
large spray of water - often called a 'rooster tail' - coming
up from underneath the car at high speeds on the
straightaways. If there is a large rooster tail, then Wet
Tires are definitely needed.
Some racing games have an on-screen tire indicator. This can
range from a set of brackets or an image of the car with the
tires highlighted in a particular color to a small line with
an arrow indicating the condition of the tires. If the color
system is used with a bracket or an image of the car with the
tires highlighted, then the following colors are often used
to indicate tire conditions:
At the beginning of a race and immediately after a Pit
Stop, the tires are brand new ('stickers') and need to be
brought up to temperature as quickly as possible so that
they can provide the best possible grip. This is noted by
dark blue tire indicators. During this period, sharp
turns or extremely-fast cornering will almost certainly
cause the car to slide, and perhaps even spin. However,
slides and spins will bring the tires up to optimum
temperature even faster, so you may wish to purposely
induce slides when entering corners, IF the tire
indicators are dark blue.
Once the tire indicators are green, the tires have reached
their optimum performance temperature, thus providing you
with the best possible grip for that set of tires. The
amount of time the tire indicators remain in the green
color range depends on your driving style, the amount of
time off-course (in the grass or sand) or banging the
barriers (or other cars), and the initial selection of
tire compound. Note that in some games, new tires put on
in a Pit Stop and tires on the car at the beginning of a
race start with green indicators (bypassing the 'stickers'
condition mentioned above).
As the tire indicators switch to yellow, you need to start
taking better care of your tires. You may experience
slides when cornering.
Orange tire indicators are a warning to get to Pit Lane to
change tires as soon as you possibly can. You will be
sliding around a lot more.
Red tire indicators are effectively Game Over. Unless you
have a HUGE (multi-lap) lead or a significant horsepower
advantage over your competitors, you will not have a
chance of winning the race, especially if you stop to
change tires. Essentially, you are driving on pure ice,
and the only way to 'reliably' get around the circuit is
to ride the rails (barriers) alongside the circuit.
Note that not all four tire indicators will be the
same color at all times. If even ONE tire shows a red
indicator, you need to limp back to Pit Lane to change
tires as soon as possible.
Even if a game does not have a tire wear indicator, players
will inherently KNOW when the tires are worn due to the
amount of slipping around, primarily when cornering and
during extreme braking and acceleration. Some games, such as
F1 2002, will have team radio communications which state that
the tires are wearing down.
If available in a given game, traction control affects tire
durability. With a low traction control setting, the tires
will spin for a while (especially on a standing start or when
under strong acceleration out of a corner) before they
actually grip the pavement; the friction of the pre-grip
spinning wears away at the tires. With a high traction
control setting, wheel spin is reduced or even eliminated,
thus extending the durability of the tires.
One of the best ways to reduce the durability of the tires is
to corner at high speeds. The game manual for Gran Turismo 3
gives an excellent, highly-detailed description of what
occurs with the tires when cornering; this explanation should
be read at least once by EVERY serious gaming racer. In
short, cornering at high speeds causes a high percentage of
the tire to be used for speed, and a low percentage to be
used for the actual cornering. To combat this and thus
extend the durability of the tires, try to brake in a
STRAIGHT line before reaching a turn, thus reducing overall
speed and providing a lower percentage of the tires to be
used for speed, and a greater percentage used for cornering.
Note that if the percentage of the tires used for speed is
too high compared to the percentage used for cornering, the
car will slide and/or spin.
Perhaps one of the best things to do to learn to take care of
the tires is to play a racing game (such as F1 2002) in which
vehicle damage is available. Playing with the damage option
on will certainly make the effects of worn tires quite
visual. As tire grip wears away (due to a long stint,
multiple off-track excursions, etc.), the car may begin
sliding around, potentially resulting in car damage (broken
and missing parts), which REALLY makes driving a nightmare at
high speeds. Many racing/driving games do not make this
damage visibly clear, so it is easy to underestimate the
condition of the tires; similarly, without any car damage
(generally due to licensing concerns, but also because damage
modeling requires MUCH more from the game programmers), cars
in these games can simply 'ride the rails' around corners
when tire conditions are less than optimal.
==============================================
DRAFTING/SLIPSTREAMING
One very useful racing technique is drafting, also known as
slipstreaming. In some forms of motorsport, especially in
oval track racing such as NASCAR and IRL, drafting is
essential to making passes; NASCAR even raises drafting to an
art form at its restrictor plate races by forcing cars to
draft off each other simply to stay in contact with the
leaders.
Drafting works because of the aerodynamic vacuum which occurs
behind a vehicle moving at a high rate of speed. As air
flows around Car A, there is an area around which the air is
forced as it flows off Car A's rear end. If Car B can get
close enough to Car A, its front end can get into this vacuum
area. Since vacuums prefer to fill their void with anything
possible, Car B is drawn closer and closer to Car A. If the
driver of Car B does not do anything or does not react fast
enough, then Car B will eventually crash in to the back of
Car A. However, once sufficient vacuum-assisted momentum has
been gained, Car B can pull out to the side, exiting the
vacuum with added momentum/speed, and rocket past Car A.
By using Car A's natural high-speed vacuum in this manner,
Car B will emerge from the draft with a major advantage in
terms of speed without ever pressing harder on the
accelerator. Often, drafting results in an additional
5MPH/8KPH over Car A; while this may not seem like a lot of
extra speed, it is often enough to make a successful pass.
Drafting is a great tactic for oval and tri-oval courses.
However, its effectiveness at road racing venues is
essentially limited to just long straightaways. In this
case, it is highly important that Car B safely make the
drafting pass well before the braking zone for the next
corner, as the added speed will require earlier and/or
stronger braking. Also, cars with variable downforce -
especially cars with wings, such as CART and F1 cars - seem
better able to make use of the draft.
Specific to F1 2002, there is a draft/slipstream meter on the
right side of the screen during races and other events (such
as challenges) in the game. This can be useful, with the
meter lighting up from bottom to top as Car B approaches the
rear end of Car A. When the meter is fully lit, the player
should quickly pull out of the draft/slipstream or risk an
accident.
==============================================
WET-WEATHER RACING/DRIVING
Almost everything written to this point in the guide focuses
solely upon dry-weather racing/driving conditions. In fact,
most racing/driving games deal ONLY with dry-weather
conditions. However, simulation-based games will include at
least a few wet-conditions situations. This can range from
Gran Turismo 3 - which uses two circuits (hosting a total of
eight races between Simulation Mode and Arcade Mode) where
the roadway has A LOT of standing water, as if the races take
place just following a major prolonged downpour - to F1 2002
- where in most situations, players can purposely select the
desired weather conditions for a given race.
In wet-weather racing/driving conditions, it is IMPERATIVE to
use tires designed for wet-conditions usage. For example, in
F1 2002, in a full 53-lap race at Monza, I purposely tried
running as long as I could with Dry Tires, then switched to
Rain Tires when I could no longer handle the car's inherent
sliding about... and my lap times instantly dropped by more
than five seconds.
In games which offer Intermediate Tires, such as Le Mans 24
Hours, the period when the racing circuit is simply damp (at
the start of a period of rain, or when the circuit is drying
after a period of rain) can be tricky in terms of tires.
Intermediate Tires are certainly best for these racing
conditions, but the time in Pit Lane spent changing to
Intermediate Tires can mean losing numerous race positions,
especially if the weather conditions change again a short
time later and require another trip to Pit Lane to change
tires yet again.
Tires aside, simulation-style games simply will not allow a
player to drive a circuit the same way in wet-weather
conditions as in dry-weather conditions. The braking zone
for all but the gentlest of corners will need to be extended,
or else the car risks to hydroplane itself off the pavement.
Throttle management is also key in wet-conditions racing.
Due to the water on the circuit, there is inherently less
tire grip, so strong acceleration is more likely to cause
undue wheelspin - which could in turn spin the car and create
a collision. If a car has gone off the pavement, then the
sand and/or grass which collect on the tires provide
absolutely NO traction at all, so just the act of getting
back to the pavement will likely result in numerous spins.
In general, cornering is more difficult in wet conditions
than in dry conditions. To help ease this difficulty in
cornering, simulation-style games will sometimes allow the
player to change the car's tuning during a race (if not, the
player will be forced to try to survive using the tuning set-
up chosen before the beginning of the race). Tuning is
covered in more detail in another section below, but the main
aspect to change for wet-weather conditions is to raise the
downforce at the front and/or rear of the car; this will help
improve cornering ability, but will result in slower top-end
speed and slower acceleration. If the car's brake strength
can be adjusted, it should be lowered, as strong braking will
raise the likelihood of hydroplaning off the pavement;
lowering brake strength will also mean an additional
lengthening of the braking zone for all but the gentlest
corners of a given circuit.
When the circuit is damp or wet, rumble strips and concrete
extensions (which are usually painted) should be avoided as
much as possible. The water tends to bead on the paint used
for rumble strips and concrete extensions, making them
incredibly slippery, especially if a drive wheel is on a
rumble strip or concrete extension while the player is in the
process of turning the car; this will cause undue wheelspin
in that particular drive wheel, usually resulting in the car
spinning.
CIRCUIT HISTORIES
The 'ancient' predecessor to this section was a guide created
due to a personal inquiry for a guide for F1 2002, as I was
wishing to learn more about the history of the race venues
then used in F1 competition; this section takes that
information (from my Circuit Histories Guide) and expands it
to cover other racing venues (F1 and otherwise) worldwide.
This is not intended to be a detailed history of all the race
venues, but more of a general overview of the many circuits
included in Pro Race Driver.
The majority of information for this guide comes from
circuits' official Web sites, Formula1.com
(http://www.formula1.com/), NASCAR.com
(http://www.NASCAR.com/), and Driver Network
(http://www.drivernetwork.net/). In some cases, historical
information is taken directly from the circuits' own official
Web sites.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: A1 RING
The A1-Ring has been the host of F1's Grand Prix of Austria
since 1997, but also hosts Truck Grand Prix, Classic Grand
Prix, Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, and motorbikes, among
other racing series.
The 2002 Grand Prix of Austria was surrounded by controversy
following an extreme Ferrari public relations faux pas.
Reubens Barrichello had truly dominated the entire race
weekend, and was definitely on his way to his second-ever F1
win. In the closing laps of the race, teammate Michael
Schumacher (P2) began closing in on Barrichello, but the
assumption was that this move was to allow Ferrari's cars to
be close enough for a photo opportunity for its sponsors.
However, since Michael Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya
(Schumacher's closest expected competition) were at that
point very close in points in the Drivers' Championship,
Barrichello - who that week had signed a contract extension
as the NUMBER TWO TEAM DRIVER behind Michael Schumacher - was
ordered to pull aside in the final meters of the race to
allow his teammate to gain an extra four points in his lead
over Montoya (P1 awards 10 points; P2 awards 6 points).
While FIA could not do anything against the team or the
drivers for the team orders, the fans in the stands (and
myself watching live on television at 7AM in Arizona) were
FURIOUS. Michael Schumacher having officially 'won' the race
was to take the top rung on the podium, but instead took the
second rung and pushed the 'true' winner Reubens Barrichello
to the top rung; the FIA took objection to this and
sanctioned the team and the drivers at a special hearing
later in the year.
F1 winners at A1-Ring: Jacques Villeneuve (1997), Mika
Hakkinen (1998 and 2000), Eddie Irvine (1999), David
Coulthard (2001), and Michael Schumacher (the official winner
in 2002 - see the note on the controversy above, as many
consider that Reubens Barrichello won the race).
See the official Web site (http://www.a1ring.at/) for more
information. Unfortunately, it does not appear to have any
historical information on the circuit itself, nor can I find
any such information online. Also, the official Web site is
entirely in German, a language I cannot read.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: ADELAIDE
This 3.22-kilometer (2.01-mile) temporary street circuit was
used for eleven years by Formula1 for the Grand Prix of
Australia (which is now held at Albert Park in Melbourne).
It is currently used by Australia's V8 Supercars series in
the same configuration as the F1 series.
Official history relating to the Clipsal 500 V8 Supercars
race:
Since the inaugural 1999 Sensational Adelaide 500
attracted 162,000 patrons - a record for a national
motorsport meeting in Australia, the event has not stopped
growing in popularity and audience.
The 2000 event attracted another record crowd for a
national motorsport event, 164,000. The 2001 event raised
the bar even higher, attracting a crowd of 166,800
spectators and the 2002 event surpassed all expectations
with a new record attendance of 171,200.
The event has been awarded the AVESCO 'Motorsport Event of
the Year' for each year - 1999, 2000, 2001, as well as the
Yellow Pages Tourism Award as South Australia's best major
festival or special event.
Over its three-year history the Clipsal 500 Adelaide has
provided economic benefit to SA totaling $44.9m, with
visitor bed nights having increased forty two per cent to
43,400, and the length of stay of visitors increasing from
five to seven nights.
This year [2002] 21,000 grandstand seats were built,
providing more than three thousand extra as compared with
last year (2001).
Corporate clients this year numbered over 8,000 per day.
Increasing from the 2001 daily figure of 7,200.
Employment as a result of the event has increased to 290
full time job equivalents, while the media benefit (that
is the value of international and national television,
radio and press coverage) had grown by 32% over the past
three years with the total value being $87.67m.
A New Family Area was introduced to the event this year.
The area, located in the Rymill Park Lake section of the
circuit off Bartels Road (Adelaide Straight) was a
designated 'dry zone' and provided a number of free
attractions for children from 10am to 4pm each day,
including face painting, a jumping castle, a horse & car
carousel, and ladybird carousel. The area was complete
with a Clipsal Vision Super screen for ease of viewing.
This year two concerts were held at the event. The
Saturday Night After Race Concert delivered the ultimate
country show with a city appeal - featuring Lee Kernaghan
and Beccy Cole, with the Sunday Night Concert featuring
Australia's premiere male vocal group Human Nature, joined
by special guest Deni Hines, and new South Australian
talent, Candyce.
The Clipsal 500 Adelaide track was modified for this
year's event. The turn 8 / 9 chicane was removed making it
a fast sweeper from Adelaide Straight on to Brabham
Straight.
The nominated charity to benefit from fundraising
opportunities during the 2002 event was The Leukaemia
Foundation of SA.
The Clipsal 500 Adelaide television audience had grown,
not only on Network 10 throughout Australia, but live in
New Zealand and with a growing global audience which
included South Africa, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Russia,
forty four countries in Europe, the United Kingdom, the
Middle East, Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico, the United
States and South America.
See the official Web site (http://www.clipsal500.com.au/) for
more information.
This information on the 1994 F1 race at Adelaide is provided
by ViperMask, one of the biggest F1 fans I have ever met. It
is edited only for formatting purposes.
Adelaide. This was the final race of the 1994
F1 season (the season often referred to as "The Year
in Hell.") and during the race; Michael Schumacher
messed up and tapped the wall at a turn. Damon Hill
cut to the inside on the next turn, but Michael (who
have catched up) steered right into Damon Hill, taking
them both out (and with Michael's Benetton riding on 2
wheels for 3 seconds!) Michael won the championship
because he was leading in the points that season.
Damon Hill, and many others (including me) blamed
Michael for trying to take Damon out.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: BATHURST
From the official Web site of Bathurst 24 Hours (since there
is no official Web site for the circuit itself;
unfortunately, there is very little historical information
available here):
This unique circuit is located literally at the end of the
main street of Bathurst, a city of 40,000 people with
another 160,000 located within an 80-kilometer radius. It
holds legendary status within Australian motorsport
history, having hosted long distance races every year
since 1963.
...
The circuit runs 6.213 kms in an anti-clockwise direction.
A lap time for FIA N-GT cars is expected to be in the 2
min 10 sec to 2 min 15 sec region. Although it is usually
a public road, the track is constructed to an extremely
high standard for racing with excellent surfaces, width
and safety. The main pit areas feature permanent lock-up
garages (55) with overhead corporate hospitality suites.
Additional temporary pit structures will be provided for
the Bathurst 24hr situated along Mountain Straight. All
pit garages will use the same pit exit lane to the
circuit.
...
Mount Panorama is the only active motor racing track in
Australia, which is open to the public. It is 6.213 kms in
length, 870 metres above sea level at its height, 670
metres above sea level at its lowest point and has grades
of up to 1 in 6.13 - downhill on the actual racing
circuit.
See the official Web site of Bathurst 24 Hours
(http://www.bathurst24hr.com/) for more information.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: BRANDS HATCH
Events at Brands Hatch include: MRO Powerbike, BRSCC
Championship, Aston Martin Race Weekend, Champion of Brands,
Historic Superprix, British F3, WSB Championship, Ferrari and
Maserati Festival, British Touring Cars, MG Racing
Spectacular, and Formula Ford Festival.
Official circuit history (from the Octagon Motorsports Web
site):
Since its birth in 1926 as a local bicycle-racing venue,
Brands Hatch has become synonymous with the best of
British motor racing. Situated in a natural bowl, the
circuit provided panoramic views of all the action, so its
popularity as a racing venue grew rapidly. In 1950 Brands
Hatch consisted of a mile-long oval tarmac circuit, but
extensions and improvements meant that by 1960, Brands
Hatch was ready to host Grand Prix events, and to write
itself into the history books.
In 1964, Jim Clarks won the European Grand Prix - not long
after, he posted the first 100 mph lap of the circuit. A
regular Grand Prix venue in the 70's and 80's, Brands
Hatch also provided Nigel Mansell with his first World
Championship win in 1985.
Unofficial circuit history (from grandprix.com):
It was back in 1926 that a group of cyclists on the main
road from London to Folkestone noticed a natural
amphitheater on land belonging to Brands Hatch farm, near
the village of West Kingsdown. After discussions with the
local farmer it was agreed that the field could be used
for bicycle racing and time trials. Within a couple of
years motorcycles had begun to use the dirt track and a
three-quarter mile circuit was laid out in the little
valley. It remained in operation throughout the 1930s but
it was not until after World War II that a proper
organization was established. That came with the formation
of Brands Hatch Stadium Ltd. in 1947 and later that year
the organizers convinced the BBC to film motorcycle races
to be transmitted on the new television network.
In April 1950, with a new tarmac surface and extended to a
mile, the track opened for car racing with 500cc Formula 3
becoming the mainstay of the racing calendar. In 1953 the
Universal Motor Racing Cub was established and a racing
school was set up at the circuit. The following year the
track was lengthened to 1.24-miles - with the addition of
the hairpin at Druids Bend - and widened and the racing
changed direction, the track having previously been anti
clockwise. A grandstand, acquired from the Northolt
trotting track, was added in 1955. The Le Mans disaster
that year was to provide a boost to Brands Hatch as many
of the rival postwar tracks were closed down because they
were not safe enough.
Brands Hatch managed to keep up with requirements and in
1956 hosted its first Formula 2 race with victory going to
Roy Salvadori, who was in considerable pain having broken
several ribs in a crash in an earlier sportscar event.
There was a second F2 race a month later which was won by
Colin Chapman driving one of his own Lotus 11s. A third F2
race at the end of the season established Brands Hatch as
a serious racing circuit although it was obviously too
short to attract any major international events. As a
result the track authorities applied for planning
permission to build an extension through the woods behind
the track. The Kent County Council agreed and the new
track hosted its first major race in August 1960 with
victory in the non-championship Silver City Trophy F1 race
going to Jack Brabham in a Cooper-Climax.
The following year the circuit's press officer John Webb
negotiated the sale of Brands Hatch to Grovewood
Securities. He was put in charge of Motor Circuit
Developments, the company which took over the management
of the track. Major upgrading followed with new facilities
added and new circuits acquired by MCD, including Mallory
Park (1962), Snetterton (1963) and Oulton Park (1964). In
July of that year Brands Hatch hosted its first World
Championship F1 race, the RAC having agreed to alternate
the British GP between Brands Hatch and Silverstone.
From the earliest days Brands had a number of fatal
accidents, but in the winter of 1965-66 Paddock Hill Ben
in particular had acquired a dreadful eputation, for
within a matter of months George Crossman, Tony Flory and
Stuart Duncan were killed there and two others were
seriously hurt. The death of Jo Siffert in October 1971
would lead to major safety work in 1972.
In the 1970s Brands Hatch played an important role in the
development of Formula Ford and in 1976 took over the
running of the Formula Ford Festival. Two years later
Brands Hatch hosted a race featuring Indycars, imported
for the occasion from the United States of America. Webb's
abilities as an organizer even enabled the track to host
the 1983 European Grand Prix at 10 weeks notice after the
unexpected cancellation of the New York GP.
The last British GP at Brands Hatch was held in 1986 with
victory going to Nigel Mansell in a Williams-Honda. That
year John Foulston bought Brands Hatch, Oulton Park and
Snetterton from Grovewood Securities and established a new
company called Brands Hatch Leisure. The following year
the company bought Cadwell Park but tragedy struck when
Foulston was killed while testing a McLaren Indycar at
Silverstone. BHL was taken over by his widow Mary
Foulston, although John Webb remained in charge until his
retirement in 1990. The running of the group was then
taken over by Nicola Foulston.
Without a Grand Prix Brands Hatch concentrated on Formula
3000 but a huge multiple accident in 1988 raised questions
of safety again and by 1991 the F3000 circus turned its
back on the track. Nicola Foulston was unperturbed and
continued to develop BHL as a business. In 1996 she
floated the company on the London Stock Exchange.
This was a big success and Foulston began to make
preparations for a bid for the British Grand Prix. In 1999
she announced that she had acquired the rights to hold the
race in 2002. Planning permission was sought for
rebuilding work but while this was still being discussed
Foulston sold the company to the giant American
advertising firm Interpublic for $195m, a premium of 36%
on the price of the shares.
See the official Web site of Octagon Motorsports
(http://circuits.octagonmotorsports.com/) for more
information on this and other Octagon Motorsports race venues
in the United Kingdom.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: BRISTOL
First used for NASCAR in 1961, Bristol Motor Speedway is the
shortest track on the current NASCAR calendar at 0.533 miles
(0.853 kilometers) - thus it is known as 'The World's Fastest
Half-mile.' Formerly asphalt, the Bristol, Tennessee, USA,
circuit was converted to concrete in 1992, and boasts
attendance easily topping 150,000 for NASCAR events. The
banking is thirty-six degrees in the corners and sixteen
degrees on the straightaways.
World of Outlaws and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series have also
held races at Bristol Motor Speedway. Racing schools at
Bristol Motor Speedway include Buck Baker Racing School, Fast
Track High Performance Driving School, Jarrett Favre Driving
Adventure, Richard Petty Driving Experience, SpeedTech Auto
Racing School, and Roy Hill's Drag Racing School.
Here is the history of Bristol Motor Speedway as given on the
official Web site of the circuit:
Bristol Motor Speedway could very easily have opened in
1961 under a different name. The first proposed site for
the speedway was in Piney Flats but, according to Carl
Moore, who built the track along with Larry Carrier and
R.G. Pope, the idea met local opposition. So the track
that could have been called Piney Flats International
Speedway was built five miles down the road on 11-E in
Bristol.
The land that Bristol Motor Speedway is built on used to
be a dairy farm.
Larry Carrier and Carl Moore traveled to Charlotte Motor
Speedway in 1960 to watch a race and it was then that they
decided to build a speedway in Northeast Tennessee.
However, they wanted a smaller model of CMS, something
with a more intimate setting and opted to erect a half
mile facility instead of mirroring the 1.5-mile track in
Charlotte.
Work began on what was then called Bristol International
Speedway in 1960 and it took approximately one year to
finish. Many ideas for the track were scratched on
envelopes and brown paper bags by Carrier, Moore and Pope.
Purchase of the land on which BMS now sits, as well as
construction of the track, cost approximately $600,000.
The entire layout for BMS covered 100 acres and provided
parking for more than 12,000 cars. The track itself was a
perfect half-mile, measuring 60 feet wide on the
straightaways, 75 feet wide in the turns and the turns
were banked at 22 degrees.
Seating capacity for the very first NASCAR race at BMS -
held on July 30, 1961 - was 18,000. Prior to this race
the speedway hosted weekly races.
The first driver on the track for practice on July 27,
1961 was Tiny Lund in his Pontiac. The second driver out
was David Pearson.
Fred Lorenzen won the pole for the first race at BMS with
a speed of 79.225 mph.
Atlanta's Jack Smith won the inaugural event - the
Volunteer 500 - at BMS on July 30, 1961. However, Smith
wasn't in the driver's seat of the Pontiac when the race
ended. Smith drove the first 290 laps then had to have
Johnny Allen, also of Atlanta, take over as his relief
driver. The two shared the $3,225 purse. The total purse
for the race was $16,625.
Nashville star Brenda Lee, who was 17 at the time, sang
the national anthem for the first race at BMS.
A total of 42 cars started the first race at BMS but only
19 finished.
In the fall of 1969 BMS was reshaped and remeasured. The
turns were banked at 36 degrees and it became a .533-mile
oval.
The speedway was sold after the 1976 season to Lanny
Hester and Gary Baker.
In the spring of 1978 the track name was changed to
Bristol International Raceway.
In August of 1978 the first night race was held on the
oval.
On April 1, 1982 Lanny Hester sold his half of the
speedway to Warner Hodgdon.
On July 6, 1983, Warner Hodgdon completed 100 percent
purchase of Bristol Motor Speedway, as well as Nashville
Speedway, in a buy-sell agreement with Baker. Hodgdon
named Larry Carrier as the track's general manager.
On January 11, 1985, Warner Hodgdon filed for bankruptcy.
After Warner Hodgdon filed for bankruptcy, Larry Carrier
formally took possession of the speedway and covered all
outstanding debts.
In August of 1992 BMS became the first speedway to host a
Winston Cup event that boasted a track surface that was
all concrete.
On Jan. 22, 1996, Larry Carrier sold the speedway to
Bruton Smith at a purchase price of $26 million. At the
time of the sale, the facility seated 71,000.
On May 28, 1996 the track's name was officially changed to
Bristol Motor Speedway.
By August of 1996, 15,000 seats had been added bringing
the seating capacity to 86,000.
BMS continued to grow and by April of 1997 was the largest
sports arena in Tennessee and one of the largest in the
country, seating 118,000. The speedway also boasted 22 new
skyboxes.
For the August 1998 Goody's 500 the speedway featured more
than 131,000 grandstand seats and 100 skyboxes.
Improvements to the speedway since Smith took possession
are in excess of $50 million.
The seating capacity for the Food City 500 in March of
2000 was 147,000 as the Kulwicki Terrace and Kulwicki
Tower were completed.
Some notable track facts (taken from the official Web site):
- Kurt Busch won his first career Winston Cup race in the
2002 running of the Food City 500.
- Tony Stewart's initial Bristol win came in the 2001 Sharpie
500.
- Elliott Sadler's victory in 2001 Food City 500 was the
first for Bristol victory for Stuart, Va.'s, famed Wood
Brothers team.
- In 21 of 40 years since Bristol opened, a driver who won a
Winston Cup race at Bristol went on to win the series title
later the same year.
- Rusty Wallace snapped Jeff Gordon's four-year Food City 500
winning streak in 1999 and got his 50th win in 2000.
- WCS track qualifying record: Jeff Gordon, 127.216 mph,
15.083 sec. 126.37 mph, 3/22/02.
- WCS race record: Charlie Glotzbach, 101.074 mph (2:38:12),
7/11/71.
- Most Bristol wins (driver): Darrell Waltrip, 12 (seven
consecutive).
- Most Bristol wins (car owner): Junior Johnson, 21 (eight
consecutive).
- Most Bristol wins (manufacturer): Chevrolet, 36 (Ford is
second with 23).
- Most Bristol poles (driver): Cale Yarborough, nine.
- Johnny Allen crossed the finish line first in the inaugural
BMS race, but he was driving in relief of Jack Smith, who
gets credit for Bristol's first victory.
For NASCAR, race speed records are:
- Winston Cup: C. Glotzbach at 101.074MPH (161.718KPH, set
July 11, 1971)
- Busch Series: H. Gant at 92.929MPH (148.686KPH, set April
4, 1992)
- Craftsman Trucks: R. Carelli at 83.992MPH (134.387KPH, set
June 22, 1996)
See the official Web site
(http://www.bristolmotorspeedway.com/) for more information
as well as photo galleries.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: CANBERRA
No information or official Web site found.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: CATALUNYA
The Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona has hosted the Grand
Prix of Spain since 1997. The circuit hosts numerous forms
of racing, including FIA Sportscar Championship, Spanish
Formula-1 Grand Prix, 24 HOURS MOTORBIKE ENDURANCE, 24 HOURS
CAR ENDURANCE, Catalunya Motorbike Championship, Spanish GT's
Championship, Truck GP, and certainly F1 Racing; Catalunya
even holds courses for the preparation of racing officials.
Many teams also use the circuit for practice and testing.
The circuit has three configurations: Grand Prix (7.563
kilometers, or 4.727 miles), National (4.907 kilometers, or
3.067 miles), and School (2.725 kilometers, or 1.703 miles).
F1 winners at Catalunya: Jacques Villeneuve (1997), Mika
Hakkinen (1998-2000), and Mika Hakkinen (2001 and 2002).
See the official Web site (http://www.circuitcat.com) for
more information. Unfortunately, it does not have any
historical information on the circuit, nor can I find any
such information online.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: CHARLOTTE
Named 'Charlotte' in Pro Race Driver, this is really now
known as Lowe's Motor Speedway. The complex sports both a
superspeedway (which is highly famous amongst NASCAR fans)
and a dirt track (which is highly famous amongst World of
Outlaws fans).
Here is the circuit history from the official Web site:
Lowe's Motor Speedway was designed and built in 1959 b
current chairman O. Bruton Smith. The late Curtis Turner,
one of stock car racing's earliest driving stars, was
Smith's business partner.
At the time Smith, a native of Oakboro, N.C., was an
automobile dealer and short-track stock car racing
promoter at Concord Motor Speedway and the Charlotte
Fairgrounds. Turner, a Virginian who amassed his money in
the lumber industry, became one of the first drivers on
the NASCAR circuit after the sanctioning body debuted in
1949.
Together, they built their dream of a 1.5-mile
superspeedway on the outskirts of The Queen City and, on
June 19, 1960, the first World 600 was run at the new
facility.
In 1961, like many superspeedways of the era, the track
fell into Chapter 11 reorganization from which it
eventually emerged despite lagging ticket sales.
After his departure from the speedway in 1962, Smith
pursued other business interests in Texas and Illinois.
Working within Ford Motor Company's dealership program,
Smith became quite successful and began purchasing shares
of stock in Lowe's Motor Speedway. By 1975 Smith had again
become the majority stockholder in the speedway, regaining
control of its day-to-day operations.
He hired current President H.A. 'Humpy' Wheeler as general
manager and the two began to implement plans for needed
improvements and expansion.
During the ensuing 25 years, Smith and Wheeler
demonstrated a commitment to customer satisfaction,
building a facility that continuously established new
industry standards.
Thousands of grandstand seats and luxury suites were
built. Food concessions and restroom facilities were added
and modernized to increase the comfort of race fans.
Smith Tower, a 135,000-square-foot, seven-story facility
connected to the speedway's grandstands, was erected and
opened in 1988. The building houses the speedway's
corporate offices, ticket office, souvenir gift shop,
leased office space and The Speedway Club, an exclusive
dining and entertainment facility.
Under the watchful eye of Smith and direction of Wheeler,
in 1984 Lowe's Motor Speedway became the only sports
facility in America to offer year-round living
accommodations when it built 40 condominiums high above
turn one. Twelve additional condominium units were added
in 1991.
Another innovation implemented by Smith and Wheeler was a
$1.7 million, 1,200-fixture permanent lighting system
developed by MUSCO Lighting of Oskaloosa, Iowa. The
revolutionary lighting process uses mirrors to simulate
daylight without glare, shadows or obtrusive light poles.
The lighting system was installed in 1992, allowing Lowe's
Motor Speedway to be the first superspeedway to host night
auto racing.
Ever cognizant of the competitors as well as the
spectators, Smith and Wheeler added a new $1 million,
20,000-square-foot Winston Cup garage area in 1994.
Other additions and improvements include the development
of the speedway's 2,000-plus acres. In addition to the
speedway, the property, some of which is leased, includes
an industrial park that serves as home to several
motorsports-related businesses, a modern landfill facility
operated by BFI and a natural wildlife habitat.
In addition to the 1.5-mile quad oval, the Lowe's Motor
Speedway complex includes a 2.25-mile road course and a
six-tenths-mile karting layout in the speedway's infield;
a quarter-mile asphalt oval utilizing part of the
speedway's frontstretch and pit road; and a one-fifth-mile
oval located outside turn three of the superspeedway.
Three NASCAR Winston Cup events, two NASCAR Busch Series
races, a pair of Automobile Racing Club of America events
and a Goody's Dash Series race are among the events held
each year on the 1.5-mile superspeedway. The FasTrack
Driving School and the Richard Petty Driving Experience
also use the track extensively throughout the year.
Other events on the various tracks include a weekly,
nationally televised short track series for Legends Cars;
Sports Car Club of America national and regional
competitions; American Motorcycle Association events; and
World Karting Association regional, national and
international races.
In May 2000, a state-of-the-art four-tenths-mile clay
oval-The Dirt Track @ Lowe's Motor Speedway-was complete
across Highway 29 from the speedway. The stadium-style
facility has nearly 15,000 seats and plays host to the
Pennzoil World of Outlaws sprint cars, dirt late model
stock cars, the AMA Grand National motorcycles, the
Advance Auto Parts Modified Super DIRT Series and Monster
Trucks.
Lowe's Motor Speedway also annually presents two of the
nation's largest car shows and swap meets-the Food Lion
AutoFairs in April and September-and rents the facility
more than 300 days per year. Corporations such as IBM,
UNOCAL, Miller Brewing, Coca-Cola, Duracell, Wendy's and
Lipton Tea have rented the speedway to film television
commercials or to entertain employees and clients with
food, music and race car rides.
Motion pictures such as 'Days of Thunder,' 'Speedway' and
'Stroker Ace' and even music videos like Tracy Lawrence's
'If the Good Die Young' have been filmed at the speedway.
Adding to rental dates are race team testing and
automobile manufacturer research.
Smith and Wheeler will quickly point out they have yet to
complete their vision, and they continue to improve and
expand the facility.
More than 10,000 stadium-style seats, 20 new executive
suites and 40 special 32-seat boxes were built in turn
four in 1995. In May 1997, the Diamond Tower Terrace
grandstand was opened along the backstretch to accommodate
an additional 26,000 race fans for The Winston and Coca
Cola 600. In May 1998, an 11,000-seat expansion of the new
Diamond Tower Terrace was completed, bringing the total
seating capacity of Lowe's Motor Speedway to approximately
147,000. Then in May 1999, more than 10,000 new seats were
completed in the Fourth Turn Terrace grandstand. A 10,860
seat expansion of the Ford grandstand on the frontstretch
was completed in May 2000, bringing the speedway's total
seating capacity to 167,000.
These additions are all part of a long-term project
calling for additional grandstand seating, infrastructure
improvements, spectator amenities and the development of
adjacent land for possible commercial real estate
ventures.
Building on the basic philosophy of keeping spectator and
competitor comfort a high priority, Lowe's Motor Speedway
continues to be a leading promoter and marketer of
motorsports activities in the United States.
See the official Web site
(http://www.charlottemotorspeedway.com/) for more
information.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: DIJON PRENOIS
This French circuit hosts numerous events: F3, GT, F.Renault
Coupe 206CC, Porsche Carrera Cup, an historic Ferrari
weekend, Historics Grand Prix, Euro 3000, and F3000.
Motorcycle events here include 125cc Open, 250cc Open, 600
Supersport, Super Production, Hornet Cup, Aprilia Cup, Coupe
Ducati Club, and Side Car.
Historical information (translated and abridged):
1968: Beginning of the 'Automobile Stadium Project'
May 26, 1972: Inauguration of Circuit Dijon-Prenois at
3.289km (2.056 miles)
June 4, 1972: First race - European Prototype Championship
1974: Host of the first Grand Prix of France (F1); winner:
Ronnie Peterson
1975: Host of Grand Prix of Switzerland (F1); winner: Clay
Regazzoni
1977: Host of Grand Prix of France; winner: Mario Andretti
1981: Host of Grand Prix of France; winner: Alain Prost
(his first F1 win)
1984: Final F1 Grand Prix race held at Dijon-Prenois;
winner: Niki Lauda
See the official Web site (http://www.circuit-dijon-
prenois.com/) for more information. However, the Web site is
currently only available in French.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: DONINGTON PARK
The Donington Park venue holds two circuits: the National
Circuit and the International Circuit (the latter includes
the parallel straightaways behind the Paddock Area).
Donington Park is billed as a great place for car testing and
launches, and also has days where the average drivers can
take their cars and motorcycles to the tracks. The Honda Ron
Haslam Race School also used Honda Hornets, CBR600 and
CBR900RR Fireblades to train people of all ages and abilities
on motorcycles. There is also the public Donington Grand
Prix Collection museum, which contains more than 150 grand
prix cars from the 1930s to the present.
Race events include: Historic Sports Car Club Championships,
British Formula 3 and British GT Championships, German
Touring Car Masters, Donington Vintage and Historic Car
Weekend, Cinzano British Motorcycle Grand Prix, Ford Racing
Festival, Mini Racing Festival, MCN British Superbike
Championship, BRSCC Car Championship, and British Truck
Racing Championship.
The official Web site (http://www.donington-park.co.uk/)
unfortunately does not include any historical information.
This information on the 1993 F1 race at Donington Park is
provided by ViperMask, one of the biggest F1 fans I have ever
met. It is edited only for formatting purposes.
You forgot about one of the GREATEST
drives in Formula 1 history. In 1993 the weather was
absoulutely MISERABLE. Ayrton Senna qualified 4th in
a uncompetitive McLaren Ford with a 1 year old Ford
engine. When the race started, he dropped to 5th
place but he was able to over take Michael Schumacher
in the Benetton, Karl Wendlinger in the Sauber, Damon
Hill in the Williams, and FINALLY Alain Prost in the
Williams ALL IN THE FIRST LAP IN THE RAIN. Also,
during the post-race press conference, Prost said he
had a bad set-up, and was blaming the car, so Senna
said to him "So why don't you trade cars with me?"
Which sparked a lot of laughs from everyone except
Alain. The following URL has the first lap of
Donington.
CIRCUIT HISTORY: EASTERN CREEK
This 3.93-kilometer (2.456-mile) circuit hosts V8 Supercars,
many Formula series, a number of sports cars and sports
sedans series, touring cars, production cars, and numerous
national and support motorcycle series. The pit straight
even incorporates a drag strip, and the circuit permits the
average driver to enter cars and motorbikes for drag racing
events (so long as the vehicle is road-registered).
See the official Web site (http://www.eastern-creek-
raceway.com/) for more information. This Web site
unfortunately does not include historical information.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: FUJI
This Japanese circuit is perhaps most notable to North
American classic video game enthusiasts from its appearance
in Atari's Pole Position series in the stand-up arcades of
the 1980s. There are a few of these classic Pole Position
and Pole Position II arcade boxes still in existence,
although the best bet for finding these games now is on the
various gaming consoles. However, those who prefer the
version of the circuit in the Pole Position series will be
rather disappointed at the chicanes added along the faster
sections of the Fuji circuit.
See the official Web site (http://www.fujispeedway.co.jp/)
for information. There is virtually NO information on the
English-language portion of the site, and NO historical
information. The majority of information on the site is
available only in the Japanese-language section.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: HOCKENHEIM
The Hockenheim circuit was an EXCELLENT and very high-speed
race venue until 2002, when the circuit was redesigned and
severely shortened while accommodations were added to bring
in even more spectators than before. The former Hockenheim
configuration ran almost entirely through the German forest.
The circuit was designed in 1932, and hosts F1 and many other
forms of motorsport.
Notable F1 winners at Hockenheim: Niki Lauda (1977), Mario
Andretti (1978), (1981, 1986, and 1987), Alain Prost (1984,
1993), Ayrton Senna (1988-1990), Nigel Mansell (1991 and
1992), Michael Schumacher (1995, 2002), and Mika Hakkinen
(1998).
The official Web site (http://www.hockenheimring.de/) is
unfortunately only available in German - which is a language
I cannot read :-(
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: KNOCKHILL
The official Web site (http://www.knockhill.co.uk/) is
unfortunately unavailable, loading only a single blank page
at the time of the writing of this guide.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: LAS VEGAS
Las Vegas Motor Speedway sports a superspeedway, 'bullring,'
drag strip, and dirt track. Amongst these four venues, more
than four hundred different racing events were held on LVMS
property in 2002.
Circuit history from the official Web site:
# Sept. 15, 1996-Inaugural Indy Racing League Las Vegas
500k, won by Richie Hearn.
# Nov. 3, 1996-NASCAR Craftsman Truck Carquest 420k, won
by Jack Sprague.
# March 16, 1997-NASCAR Busch Grand National 300, won by
Jeff Green. Oct. 11, 1997-Las Vegas 500k Indy Racing
League, won by Eliseo Salazar.
# Nov. 9, 1997 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Carquest 420k, won
by Joe Ruttman.
# Feb. 28, 1998-NASCAR Busch series Sam's Town 300, won by
Jimmy Spencer.
# March 1, 1998-Inaugural Las Vegas 400 NASCAR Winston
Cup, won by Mark Martin.
# Oct. 11, 1998-Pep Boys Indy Racing League Las Vegas
500k, won by Arie Luyendyk.
# Nov. 8, 1998-NASCAR Craftsman Truck Sam's Town 250, won
by Jack Sprague.
# March 6, 1999-NASCAR Busch Series Sam's Town 300, won by
Mark Martin.
# March 7, 1999-NASCAR Winston Cup Las Vegas 400, won by
Jeff Burton.
# September 24, 1999-Nascar Craftsman Truck Series Orleans
250, won by Greg Biffle
# September 25, 1999-Nascar Winston West Gold Coast 150,
won by Kevin Richards
# September 26, 1999-Pep Boys Indy Racing League
Vegas.com., won by Sam Schmidt
# March 5, 2000-NASCAR Busch Series Sam's Town 300, won by
Jeff Burton
# March 6, 2000-NASCAR Winston Cup Series Carsdirect.com
400, won by Jeff Burton
# April 7, 2000-Inaugural NHRA Summitracing.com Nationals,
winners were Kenny Bernstein (TF), Jim Epler (FC), Jeg
Coughlin Jr. (PS), Bob Panella (PST), Angelle Seeling
(PSB)
# April 21, 2000-NASCAR Winston West, Orleans 150, won by
David Starr
# April 21, 2000-IRL Vegas Indy 300, won by Al Unser Jr.
# March 1, 2001-NASCAR Winston West NAPA 300, won by Mark
Reed
# March 3, 2001-NASCAR Busch Series Sam's Town 300, won by
Todd Bodine
# March 4, 2001-NASCAR Winston Cup UAW-DaimlerChrysler
400, won by Jeff Gordon
# April 8, 2001-NHRA Summitracing.com Nationals, won by
Kenny Bernstein (TF), Tommy Johnson Jr. (FC), Jeg Coughlin
Jr. (PS), Bob Panella (PST)
# Oct. 14, 2001, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Orleans 350, won
by Ted Musgrave
# Oct. 28, 2001, Inaugural NHRA ACDelco Las Vegas
Nationals, won by Darrell Russell (TF), Ron Capps (FC),
Mark Pawuk (PS) and Shaun Gann (Bikes)
# March 2, 2002, NASCAR Busch Series Sam's Town 300, won
by Jeff Burton.
# March 3, 2002, NASCAR Winston Cup UAW-DaimlerChrysler
400, won by Sterling Marlin
# April 7,2002, NHRA Summitracing.com Nationals, won by
Larry Dixon (TF), Gary Densham (FC) and Ron Krisher (PS).
See the official Web site (http://www.lvms.com/) for more
information.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: MAGNY-COURS
Characterized by its three parallel straightaways (which can
be aurally difficult for drivers while on the middle
straightaway), Nevers Magny-Cours has hosted F1 events since
1991. The 4.226-kilometer (2.641-mile) circuit is also used
for Motorbikes Championship, FIA GT Championship, Formula
Renault 2000 Eurocup, FIA Sportcar Championship, Formula
Nissan, historical races, and various endurance races.
F1 winners at Nevers Magny-Cours: Nigel Mansell (1991 and
1992), Alain Prost (1993), Michael Schumacher (1994, 1995,
1997, 1998, 2001, and 2002), Damon Hill (1996), Heinz-Harald
Frentzen (1999), and David Coulthard (2000).
Visit the official Web site (http://www.magnycours.com/) for
more information. Unfortunately, the site does not include
any circuit history in either the French- or English-language
versions of the site.
This information on the 1996 F1 race at Magny-Cours is
provided by ViperMask, one of the biggest F1 fans I have ever
met. It is edited only for formatting purposes.
As for Magny-Cours, Heinz Harald Frentzen's win was a
very special one. He made a BEAUTIFUL drive in the
wet, in the Jordan Mugen-Honda. It was one of the
races that made HHF into a superstar driver AND the
Driver of the Year in 1999.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: MANTORP PARK
The official Web site (http://www.mantorppark.com/) is
currently available only in Swedish, so a circuit history is
not available in English.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: MEXICO
This 2.75-mile (4.40-kilometer) permanent road circuit began
hosting CART events in 2001. As such, there is no real
history available for this circuit.
Please see the official Web site
(http://www.telmexgigantegranpremiomexico.com/) for
information.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: MONZA
Originally opened in 1922 to commemorate the twenty-fifth
anniversary of the Milan Automobile Club, the Monza circuit
(Autodromo Nazionale Monza), near Milan, Italy, has been the
site of more F1 grand prix events than any other. The Monza
circuit has seen numerous configurations, including the
famous banked section from 1955 to 1961.
Monza has always been an incredibly fast race venue... and
with this speed comes even greater danger. Phil Hill's 1961
race victory (his second consecutive win at Monza) was
severely overshadowed by a collision between Jim Clark and
Wolfgang von Trips which took the lives of the latter driver
and over one dozen spectators. A 1970 mechanical failure
during Qualifying killed Jochen Rindt, so one may not be
surprised that chicanes, guard rails, and reinforced fencing
were added beginning in 1972 as an attempt to slow the cars
and make Monza's events safer for all involved; however, the
chicanes specifically were really just makeshift safety
measures due to the increasing performance in virtually all
realms of motorsport. In more recent years, the opening lap
of the 2000 Grand Prix of Italy was seriously marred by the
death of a trackside race marshal due to all the flying
debris at the Roggia Chicane (the second chicane of the
circuit). While there were no dangerous incidents at the
2001 Grand Prix of Italy, that particular event happened to
be scheduled for the first weekend following the world-
shocking terrorist attacks on the United States (September
11, 2001) AND the near-fatal accident at a new race venue in
Germany (the previous afternoon) which forced the amputation
of the legs of CART driver Alex Zanardi; these events cast a
dark shadow over the race itself as well as the entire Grand
Prix weekend.
On a far more positive note, Williams driver Juan Pablo
Montoya - truly making his first great impact upon the F1
world following several years of astounding success in CART -
broke Keke Rosberg's twenty-seven-year record for the fastest
ever F1 qualifying lap. Rosberg's then record-setting lap
was 259.005KPH (161.878MPH) set at Silverstone; Montoya's new
record-setting lap was 259.827KPH (162.392MPH). What makes
Montoya's achievement even more impressive is that Michelin-
shod F1 vehicles (led by Williams and McLaren) have generally
not been able to compete with Bridgestone-shod cars (led by
Ferrari).
The Monza circuit has seen all sorts of motorsport events,
including motorcycles and touring cars, and currently is
5.736 kilometers (3.585 miles) in length. A recent Italian
telefilm on the life of Enzzo Ferrari exclusively used the
Monza circuit for its racing shots using time-appropriate
vehicles.
Notable F1 winners at Monza: Alberto Ascari (1951 and 1952),
Juan Manuel Fangio (1953-1955), Stirling Moss (1956 and
1957), Stirling Moss (1959), Jim Clark (1963), Jackie Stewart
(1965 and 1969), Emerson Fittipaldi (1972), Mario Andretti
(1977), Niki Lauda (1978 and 1984), Alain Prost (1981, 1985,
and 1989), Nelson Piquet (1983, 1986, and 1987), Ayrton Senna
(1990 and 1992), Michael Schumacher (1996, 1998, 2000, and
2002), and Juan Pablo Montoya (2001).
The official Web site of Autodromo Nazionale Monza
(http://www.monzanet.it/) has plenty of great information,
including a large track map of Monza's various configurations
and plenty of images of racing action on Monza's banked
turns.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: NORISRING
The official Web site (http://www.autohausamnorisring.de/) is
only available in German, so a circuit history is not
available.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: NURBURGRING
Originally 22.677 kilometers (14.173 miles) in length, the
Nurburgring first opened in 1927 (following two years of
construction) and is still going strong. The opening events
featured motorcycles (June 18, 1927), with cars featured the
following day. The 1939 German Grand Prix was the final race
at Nurburgring for quite some time due to the beginning of
World War II. The circuit itself was damaged in the closing
months of the war, but racing returned to Nurburgring in
1947. However, there were no races at Nurburgring in 1948,
as the circuit was being brought up to safety standards.
Nurburgring began hosting F1 events in 1951. Estimates show
that 400,000 spectators came to the track for the 1954 F1
race. In 1958, however, the F1 race saw the death of Peter
Collins as his Ferrari went out of control.
The 1968 world motorcycle championship at Nurburgring had a
strange stoppage: a forest fire. The F1 Grand Prix later
that year had nearly impossible visibility due to intense
rain and fog.
In 1970, the Northern Loop of the circuit was called into
question after numerous accidents. Improvements were made
for the following year, when 130,000 spectators witnessed
Jackie Stewart winning the F1 Grand Prix. More improvements
were demanded in 1974 (first by motorcyclists, then by F1
drivers). When Nikki Lauda was seriously injured in 1976,
the Northern Loop was decommissioned as an F1 venue.
A new, shorter circuit was then designed and built, opening
in 1984 at 4.542 kilometers (2.839 miles) in length. Alan
Prost won that year's European Grand Prix. In 1986, however,
the F1 race moved to Hockenheim. 1995 saw the return of F1
to Nurburgring, and the historic race venue has produced
excellent races ever since.
Some of the notable F1 winners at Nurburgring: Alberto Ascari
(1951 and 1952), Juan Manuel Fangio (1954-1956), Stirling
Moss (1961), Jim Clark (1965), Jack Brabham (1966), Jackie
Stewart (1968, 1971, and 1973), Alain Prost (1984), Michael
Schumacher (1995, 2000, and 2001), Jacques Villeneuve (1996
and 1997), Mika Hakkinen (1998), and Rubens Barrichello
(2002).
See the official Web site (http://www.nuerburgring.de/) for
plenty more details about the Nurburgring.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: ORAN PARK
Oran Park contains two separate circuits which are joined for
form the Grand Prix circuit of 2.7 kilometers (1.7 miles)
which is used for V8 Supercar.
From the official Web site:
Oran Park is a motorsport facility steeped in history. The
facility was established by the Singer Car Club 40 years
ago. In its early days it would host one race per day.
The circuit initially consisted only of the current south
circuit, with the extended Grand Prix figure-8 layout not
being incorporated into the track until the 1970s.
Oran Park has played to host to a number unique and
exciting events. It has hosted Australian Grand Prix, been
the home of truck racing and was the home of the final
round of the Australian Touring Car Championship for quite
some time. Oran Park was instrumental in running Sports
Sedans racing, that captivated Sydney motor racing fans in
the 1970s (and still proves very popular today).
Oran Park is a multi-faceted faclity, and includes a
number of separate tracks and a driver training facility.
Oran Park boasts the famous Grand Prix circuit, which is a
challenging figure-8 layout, with a combination of fast
sweepers and tight, technical corners.
The Grand Prix Circuit is able to be split up and used
concurrently as South and North Circuits. The South Cicuit
incorporates the long straight, while the North Circuit
incorporates the figure-8 section of the track and is a
short and challenging track.
Additionally, Oran Park has a Skid Pan for driver
training, two dirt circuits for off road events, a
motorcross track, and a popular go-kart circuit.
See the official Web site (http://www.oranpark.com/) for more
information.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: OSCHERSLEBEN
The official Web site (http://www.motopark.de/) is only
available in German, so a circuit history is not available.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: OULTON PARK
Located near Cheshire, England, this circuit hosts British
Touring Car Championship, British Superbike Championship, and
British GT Championship, along with numerous club series.
Official circuit history from Octagon Motorsports:
Oulton Park first established itself as the North West's
premier motorsport venue in the 1950s. A decade later, it
was hosting international meetings, and among the winners
were household names such as Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham,
Jackie Stewart and Graham Hill. The circuit has been
extended over the years, and boasts the unique distinction
of having three circuits in one. This allows Oulton Park
to present a racing programme that includes something for
just about every motorsport enthusiast. Unusually, it is
also able to seat spectators within the perimeter of the
circuit, providing unrivalled views of the action.
See the official Web site of Octagon Motorsports
(http://circuits.octagonmotorsports.com/) for more
information on this and other Octagon Motorsports race venues
in the United Kingdom.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: PHILLIP ISLAND
In 1952, the Phillip Island Auto Racing Club was formed with
the vision of building the first international grand prix
circuit in Australia. In December 1956, the circuit finally
opened.
Major events held at Phillip Island include Australian
Superbike Championship, World Superbike Championship, V8
Supercar Championship Series, Konica V8 Supercars, and
Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.
See the official Web site
(http://www.phillipislandcircuit.com.au/) for more
information, including a highly-detailed circuit history.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: ROCKINGHAM
Rockingham Motor Speedway hosts an 'oval' circuit plus an
infield road circuit (i.e., a 'stadium circuit'), allowing
for many types of racing at this British facility. Events
here include Ascar Oval Race Meeting, Classic Motorcycle Race
Meeting, British Superbike Race Meeting, F3/GT, ASCAR Oval
Race Meeting, CART Rockingham 500, Uniroyal Challenge with
Formula Palmer Audi & VSR Club Race Meeting, and BRDC Winter
Raceday.
See the official Web site (http://www.rockingham.co.uk/) for
more information. Unfortunately, a circuit history is not
given on the official Web site.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: SANDOWN
The official Web site (http://www.sandownraceway.com.au/) is
extremely slow and virtually unresponsive at the time of the
initial writing of this game guide.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: SEARS POINT
Sears Point Raceway is now officially known as Infineon
Raceway. This is the site of one of NASCAR's two road
circuit events each year, providing a drastic change for the
oval-dedicated stock car drivers.
Circuit history from the official Web site:
Since 1968, Infineon Raceway has provided the best in
motorsports action. From the fender-rubbing action of
NASCAR Winston Cup and ground pounding thunder of NHRA
Drag Racing to the grassroots SCCA road races and AFM
motorcycle events, Infineon Raceway has played host to
many of racing's greatest moments and stars.
Racing legends such as Mario Andretti, Al Unser, Dan
Gurney, Kenny Roberts, Dale Earnhardt, Shirley Muldowney
and Don 'The Snake' Prudhomme, as well as modern day stars
including Jeff Gordon, Rusty Wallace, Ron Hornaday Jr.,
Miguel DuHamel and John Force, have all left their
indelible marks at this unique and historic facility.
NASCARInfineon Raceway is arguably the world's busiest
racing facility, with track activity scheduled an average
of 340 days a year. It is one of the nation's only high
performance automotive industrial parks.
Under the ownership and vision of Speedway Motorsports
Incorporated, Infineon Raceway is poised to reach new
heights in facility development and in the quality of
events it offers fans. What follows is a brief history of
how Infineon Raceway came to be one of North America's
most complete and versatile motorsports complex:
In the Beginning
Franklin Sears was born in Indiana in 1817. He spent his
childhood in Missouri, and in 1844 ventured westward to
Oregon. He left home with his friend, Granville Swift, a
rifle, mule and $1.50 in his pocket.
After one winter in Oregon, Sears was fed up with the rain
and headed south. He volunteered for the U.S.-Mexican war
and was named a hero of the Battle of San Pasquale. He
spent much of the time in the thick of the battle and was
a decorated solider during the war. Following the war in
1851, he married Granville Swift's sister, Margaret, and
settled on 600 acres of land south of Sonoma. He built his
home of hand-hewn redwood. He was a blacksmith by trade
but a large source of his income came from ranching.
Sears eventually partnered with Granville Swift and bought
15,000 acres of land that stretched from Infineon Raceway
all the way to what is now Lakeville Highway.
1968
The 2.52-mile road racing course was constructed on 720
acres by Marin County owners Robert Marshall Jr., an
attorney from Point Reyes, and land developer Jim Coleman
of Kentfield. The two conceived of the idea of a race
track while on a hunting trip. Ground was broken in August
and paving of the race surface was completed in November.
The first official event at Infineon Raceway was an SCCA
Enduro, held on December 1, 1968.
1969
The track was sold to Filmways Corp., a Los Angeles-based
entertainment company for $4.5 million. From 1969 through
early 1970, Infineon Raceway hosted a variety of events,
including USAC IndyCar races, NASCAR stock car races, SCCA
races, and drag races.
1970
Dan Gurney won a 150-mile USAC IndyCar road race with a
field that included Mario Andretti, Mark Donahue and Al
Unser. Not long after, the track closed in May and became
a tax shelter for Filmways after losses of $300,000 were
reported.
1973
Hugh Harn of Belvedere and Parker Archer of Napa arranged
to lease the track through Filmways vice president Lee
Moselle for $1 million. Bob Bondurant, owner and operator
of the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving,
announced that he would move his school from Ontario
Speedway in Southern California to Infineon Raceway. The
Pacific Region of the Sports Club Car of America announced
it would hold a driver's school and series of non
spectator races at the track.
1974
Bob Bondurant and partner Bill Benck took over management
and control of the leased raceway from Archer and Harn.
American Motorcycle Association national motocross races
in the hills north of Turn 7 become popular with Bay Area
fans, but were phased out by the end of the decade because
of rising insurance costs.
1977
AMAMoselle, a lawyer with no racing experience, comes
aboard and hires Jack Williams, the 1964 NHRA top fuel
drag racing champion, to be his operations chief, and Art
Glattke to handle public relations. Moselle was under
orders from Filmways to clear spectator restrictions with
the county of Sonoma and to build a major-event schedule.
A group calling itself Black Mountain Inc., which included
Bob Bondurant, William J. Kolb of Del Mar and Howard
Meister of Newport Beach, purchased the track from
Filmways for a reported $1.5 million. Two months later, in
May, Kenny Roberts did wheelies on the final two laps
while he waved to a crowd of 20,000 for a runaway victory
in the AMA-Sonoma Motorcycle Classic.
1980
The Black Mountain Group took on an additional partner --
the Long Beach Grand Prix Association -- in hopes of
improving marketing and public relations.
1981
The Long Beach Grand Prix, headed by Chris Pook, decided
to rename the track Golden State International Raceway.
The Black Mountain group obtained an injunction to keep
Filmways from claiming the property after defaulting on
payments. Black Mountain claimed Filmways gave false
financial projections when it sold the property in 1979.
Bondurant resigned as president of Golden State Raceway in
a dispute with Pook over the Long Beach Grand Prix's
management plan. Filmways regained ownership of the track
and Williams, Rick Betts and John Andersen purchased the
track from Filmways at an auction for $800,000. The track
was renamed Infineon Raceway International Raceway.
1983
Ford became a major sponsor at the track. Williams named
Dr. Frank N. Scott Jr. of Aptos and Harvey 'Skip' Berg of
Tiburon as partners.
1985
The track was completely repaved, in part with funds
donated from the 'Pave the Point' fund raising campaign.
It was also in 1985 that the first shop spaces (Buildings
A,B,C, and D -- in the main paddock area) were built.
1986
Berg, president of a real estate acquisition and
management firm headquartered in Seattle, took control of
the track and became major stockholder in Brenda Raceway
Corp., which controlled the track until 1996. Berg named
Darwin Doll, vice president and general manager of
Michigan International Speedway, new track president.
1987
NHRA Top FuelOne of the most significant moves in the
track's history occurred. Infineon Raceway signed a five
year contract with the National Hot Rod Association for
the California Nationals. The first event was held in the
summer of 1988. Additional buildings constructed on the
property brought shop space to more than 700,000 square
feet.
1988
Berg hired Glen Long, an IBM executive, to be the track's
new president. Mike Yurick was named general manager. The
NHRA nationals were a resounding success, with an
estimated 32 ,000 spectators on hand to watch Joe Amato
edge Dick LaHaie in victory by one hundreth of a second
margin.
1989
The NASCAR Winston Cup Series debuted at the raceway, with
Ricky Rudd taking the inaugural victory. Infineon Raceway
arrived.
1991
The Skip Barber Racing School replaced the Bob Bondurant
School of High Performance Driving. The NASCAR Winston Cup
race drew 70,000 spectators in its second year at the
track. The 15-year association with International
Motorsports Association (SportsCar) GTP series, was
suspended. Steve Page, a marketing executive with the
Oakland A's, succeeded Long as track president.
1994
More than $1 million was spent on a beautification project
and construction of a 62-foot-high, four-sided electronic
lap leader board in the center of the road course. A
medical facility and an 18-nozzle Unocal gasoline filling
station were constructed.
1995
A major $3 million renovation plan was kicked off that
included posh tower VIP suites and a two-story driver's
lounge/emergency medical facility. Trans-Am and SportsCar
races returned to Infineon Raceway. The NASCAR Craftsman
Truck Series is added to the major-events schedule.
1996
The Russell Racing School signs a 10-year contract with
Infineon Raceway in February to headquarter its world
renowned driving school in Sonoma. The Skip Barber Driving
School moves to Laguna Seca. In May of 1996, the NASCAR
Winston Cup race drew a record 102,000 spectators -- the
largest single-day crowd for a Northern California sports
event. Infineon Raceway owner Skip Berg sells the track to
O. Bruton Smith, chairman of Speedway Motorsports, Inc. in
November of 1996. Speedway Motorsports also owns Atlanta,
Bristol, Charlotte, Las Vegas and Texas Motor Speedways in
addition to Infineon Raceway.
1997
Kragen signs a contract through the year 2001 to joint
sponsor the annual NASCAR Winston Cup event. The event
will be renamed the Save Mart/Kragen 350 for the 1998
season.
1998
Major renovations begin at Infineon Raceway with the
creation of 'The Chute,' an 890-foot high-speed stretch
that will be used for all NASCAR-sanctioned events. The
stretch connects existing Turns 4 and 7 and is officially
opened on May 5 by NASCAR star Jeff Gordon. The re-design
of the road course shortens the circuit from 2.52 miles to
1.949 miles but increases the Winston Cup race from 74 to
112 laps, provding fans with more action. The Chute will
be used for Winston Cup, Winston West, Southwest Series
and Craftsman Truck Series events.
In June, NASCAR marks its 10-year anniversary with
Infineon Raceway and Vallejo native Gordon comes away for
the victory in the Save Mart/Kragen 350 Winston Cup race.
1999
Jeff Gordon joins Rusty Wallace and Ernie Irvan as the
only two-time winners at Infineon Raceway when the Vallejo
native wins the Save Mart/Kragen 350 NASCAR Winston Cup
race in June.
The first-ever running of the American Le Mans Series
takes place at Infineon Raceway in July as J.J. Lehto and
Steve Soper guide BMW to the Prototype victory. This marks
the return of exciting sports car racing to Infineon
Raceway as a main event for the first time since 1997. The
race is televised live by NBC.
Progressive Insurance signs on as the title sponsor of the
AMA Superbike event, which is won by Mat Mladin. The
native of Australia would go on to capture his first-ever
AMA Superbike championship. His only win of the year would
come at Infineon Raceway. NHRA drag racing winners include
Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Whit Bazemore (Funny Car) and Jim
Yates (Pro Stock).
2000
Infineon Raceway gains unanimous approval from the Sonoma
County Board of Supervisors by a 5-0 vote to begin work on
a $35 million Modernization Plan that will transform the
facility into one of the premier motorsports venues in the
country. The comprehensive project will take two years to
complete and inlcudes 64,000 Hillside Terrace seats,
repaving of both the road course and drag strip and
increased run-off around the entire track.
Jeff Gordon becomes the first three-time NASCAR Winston
Cup winner at Infineon Raceway, taking the Save
Mart/Kragen 350.
In other racing news, Allan McNish sets the fastest lap
ever recorded at Infineon Raceway since the raceway opened
in 1968. McNish, piloting an Audi R8 during the American
Le Mans Series Grand Prix of Sonoma, covers a single lap
at 112.440 mph. Doug Kalitta joins Gordon as a three-peat
winner, claiming his third consecutive Top Fuel title at
the Fram Autolite Nationals NHRA event.
2001
The 2001 season kicked off with the completion of the
first phase of Infineon Raceway's $35 million
Modernization Plan. The first phase of the project, which
began in September, featured the completion of hillside
terrace seats in Turns 2-4, a new entrance at Gate 7, the
construction of two ring roads for shuttle and fan
traffic, 40 permanent garages and increased run-off on the
road course, among others.
The 10-turn road course used for the NASCAR Dodge/Save
Mart 350 featured a modified Chute lengthened by over 300
feet to include a straightaway between Turns 4 and 4a and
the creation of a pure straightaway between Turns 4a and
7. Turn 7 boasts a 90-degree right-hand turn with 120 feet
of runoff room for safety and creates a new passing zone
on the track.
The new Turn 7 proved crucial in the 2001 Dodge/Save Mart
350, with Tony Stewart making the race winning pass in
this turn as Robby Gordon and Kevin Harvick battled for
position. Stewart took the checkered flag after 112 laps,
robbing Jeff Gordon of his fourth consecutive win at
Infineon Raceway. The NHRA FRAM Autolite Nationals offered
more than just exciting racing action in 2001. After Kenny
Bernstein, Del Worsham and Tom Martino claimed their
titles, John Force and Gary Scelzi boarded Caterpillar
bulldozers to begin destruction of the drag strip and
signify the beginning the of second phase of the
Modernization Plan. Phase Two of the plan focuses on fan
and driver amenities, including more terraces seats,
repaving of the drag strip and road course surfaces and
the construction of a new permanent grandstand at the
start/finish line of the road course. The Plan is
scheduled to be completed for the 2002 season.
2002
The 2002 racing season was a time of major change at the
Sonoma raceway. In June, track officials announced that
the facility had been renamed Infineon Raceway as part of
a 10-year strategic partnership with Infineon
Technologies, one of the world's top semiconductor
manufacturing companies. The agreement includes two annual
events to be held at Infineon Raceway. The annual American
Le Mans Series event will be renamed the Infineon Grand
Prix of Sonoma, and beginning in 2003, Infineon Raceway
will host the Infineon Mountain Bike Challenge, a world
class competitive biking event. Infineon Raceway became
just the second motor racing facility in the country to
secure a major naming rights deal.
The 2002 racing season also saw the near-completion of the
facility's two-year, $50 million Modernization Plan. This
renovation touched nearly every area of the property and
includes the addition of many fan and racer amenities.
Changes to the facility include: a new permanent
grandstand at start/finish of the road course; hillside
terrace seating at Turns 7-9; a completely refurbished
drag strip complete with 660-foot concrete launch pad;
expanded paddock area; and the new Infineon Raceway
Karting Center.
Infineon Raceway also hosted its full-slate of annual
events, including the Dodge/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Winston
Cup event and NHRA FRAM Autolite Nationals, with the
addition of the inaugural NHRA Summit Sport Compact Drag
Racing Series event. The new drag strip surface proved
fruitful at the NHRA event, with track records reset in
three classes and Pro Stock Motorcycle rider, Angelle
Savoie, posting the second quickest time in history.
See the official Web site (http://infineonraceway.com/) for
more information.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: SILVERSTONE
The world-famous Silverstone circuit - often spoken of in the
same terms as Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Monza - has
hosted F1 racing since 1950. This 5.110-kilometer (3.194-
mile) circuit is set at an airport site, and contains several
configurations. The Silverstone International circuit (used
for the British TOCA series) shares much of the same pavement
as the Grand Prix circuit used for the annual F1 Grand Prix
of Great Britain; in fact, the pavement for the two circuits
even cross at approximately two-thirds of the way around the
International circuit.
During World War II, the Royal Air Force chose the site now
known as Silverstone for an airfield and a bomber-training
base. Following the war, other circuits such as Donnington
Park and Brooklands could not be used for racing due to
having been converted for wartime uses. Thus, in 1948, the
Silverstone site was used for its first race... with the
circuit marked by hay bales. The circuit was redone in 1949
and assumed a configuration roughly equivalent to that in
current use.
F1 began in 1950, and held its first race at Silverstone.
Guiseppe Farina won the first-ever F1 race in an Alfa Romeo.
The British Racing Drivers' Club operated Silverstone until
2001, when current owner Octagon Motorsports took control of
the venue; this also ensures that the British Grand Prix will
be held at Silverstone for at least the next fifteen years.
The world's best F1 drivers have all placed themselves into
the Silverstone record books, including Manuel Fangio,
Stirling Moss, Mike Hawthorn, Jack Brabham, John Surtees, Jim
Clark, Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart, James Hunt, John Watson,
Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell, Ayrton Senna, Eddie
Irvine, Jacques Villeneuve, Mika Hakkinen, Michael
Schumacher, and David Coulthard. The track record is held by
Michael Schumacher, at 1:24.475 with an average speed of
217.784KPH (136.115MPH).
Silverstone hosts far more than just F1: Grand Prix
motorcycles, SuperBikes, Karts, FIA GTs, European Le Mans,
RallySprint, stages of the Rally of Great Britain, British
Touring Car Championship, and British Formula 3 and GT.
The official Web site is actually the site for Octagon
Motorsports (http://www.octagonmotorsports.com/), which owns
and operates Silverstone, as well as Snetterton, Cadwell
Park, Brands Hatch, and Oulton Park.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: T1 CIRCUIT AIDA
The official Web site (http://www.ti-circuit.co.jp/) is only
available in Japanese, so there is no circuit history
available.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: VALLELUNGA
The official Web site (http://www.vallelunga.it/) has an
automatic redirection to a blank page. Therefore, no circuit
history is available.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: VANCOUVER
The Vancouver temporary street circuit primarily features one
of the three Canadian rounds of the CART-FedEx Championship
Series, but also includes CASCAR Super Series, Fran-Am,
Barber Dodge Pro Series, and the SCCBC Sedan Invitational
Race.
Circuit history from the official Web site (written in 2002):
From green flag to checkered flag, the challenging
Vancouver course will take the world's most talented
drivers on a heart-pounding 12-turn ride through the
streets of downtown Vancouver. With the spectacular North
Shore mountains as a backdrop, the twisting waterfront
course is sure to test the limits of every CART driver and
their million-dollar racing machines.
Last year a packed house of more than 65,000 cheering fans
were revved up for another Canadian victory following the
first ever in Vancouver the year before by Team KOOL
Green's 'Thrill from Westhill', Paul Tracy. Things
couldn't have started any better as 26 cars took the green
flag led by the all-Canadian front row of Team Players
drivers Alex Tagliani and Patrick Carpentier.
After 175 miles of racing and seven lead changes, it was
Patrick Racing's 'Super Sub' Roberto Moreno who powered
his Visteon Reynard Lola to his first victory of the
season after passing fellow Brazilian Gil de Ferran with
just nine laps to go. An emotional Moreno treated the
crowd to some victory donuts before dedicating the race to
the memory of hometown favorite Greg Moore.
As always, the Vancouver race played a pivotal role in the
race for the season championship. With his second place
finish, Team Penske driver Gil de Ferran, took over top
spot in the standings and never looked back on his way to
repeating as CART FedEx Championship Series champion.
Last year, more than 160,000 motorsport fans came to
Concord Place to catch thrilling wheel-to-wheel action and
the roar of the 800-horsepower engines.
See the official Web site (http://www.molsonindy.com/) for
more information.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: ZANDVOORT
The official Web site (http://www.circuit-zandvoort.nl/) is
only available in Dutch, so an official circuit history of
not available.
==============================================
CIRCUIT HISTORY: ZOLDER
Circuit Zolder has been used in the past for F1's Grand Prix
of Belgium, but is a 'sore point' amongst many current
drivers due to the lack of modernized safety features. For
example, the 2002 season featured primarily sand and gravel
in the recovery zones, whereas the majority of European
racing venues are instead removing sand and gravel to be
replaced by more pavement; such changes permit cars to slide
off of the actual raceway, recover, and rejoin the race.
Events held at Circuit Zolder include: German Touring Cars,
World Championship Cyclo-Cross, Road World Championships, FIA
Electro Solar Cup, Motorcycle Road Racing Grand Prix, Grand
prix of the Nations, European Historic Grand Prix, Truck
Super Prix, and 24 Hours of Zolder... among others.
Circuit history from the official Web site:
The name 'Terlamen' is derived from 'Terlaemen', the name
of the local domain that is already quoted in 1293 and at
the heart whereof the circuit has been constructed. The
community of Heusden-Zolder is the owner of the circuit
and of the greater part of the surrounding woods. The vzw
Terlamen runs the circuit.
In 1959, Auto-Moto-Club Bolderberg came
with the idea to build a circuit where its
members could practice their hobby. In
1960, this idea was materialised in a small
2,700-meters long circuit. Very soon, it
became clear that this circuit was too small
for national and international competitions.
A permanent and larger circuit was
required. On 14 July 1963, the 4,300-meters
long circuit was officially inaugurated. After
the works in 1994, the length was reduced
up to 4,184 meters.
Although not the largest, Circuit Zolder
surely is one of the safest circuits of the
world. Moreover, the track has been built in
such a way that the drivers can demonstrate
their true capacities. Since the circuit
constitutes a closed complex, timings,
races or other events can be organised
without obstructing the circulation on the
public road.
Besides many Formula 1 races in the past
and other internationally famous races such
as the European Historic Grand Prix and the
Truck Super Prix, Circuit Zolder hosts many
national and regional competitions such as
the New Race Festival, the 24 Hours of
Zolder, the Belgian Masters and the Race
Promotion Night as well. Every year, Circuit
Zolder is the place-to-be for thousands of
visitors.
Please see the official Web site (http://www.circuit-
zolder.be/) for more information.
This information on the 1982 F1 race at Zolder is provided by
ViperMask, one of the biggest F1 fans I have ever met. It is
edited only for formatting purposes.
This is where Gilles Villeneuve died on May
8th, 1982. During practice, he was driving possessed
due to his hatred for his team mate Didier Pironi
(because Pironi broke a gentleman's agreement not to
pass each other in Imola costing Gilles the win.)
Unfortunately the MARCH of Jochen Mass was on a warm
up lap or a slow down lap, so Gilles try to avoid him,
yet Jochen moved trying to avoid Gilles. Gilles ended
up tapping the MARCH and somersaulting his Ferrari in
a HORRIFIC crash. Gilles was even thrown out of the
car like a crash test dummy. Gilles died in the
hospital. Gilles will always be remembered as one of
the best drivers who never got a F1 World
Championship. But thankfully. His son Jacques
Villeneuve became a F1 world champion in 1997 for
Williams Renault.
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS
The following large section is a list of detailed driving
instructions to help players to quickly yet safely drive each
circuit in Pro Race Driver. Much of this information comes
from my World-famous Racing Circuits Guide (in which the
information is based upon a variety of racing games featuring
the listed circuits), so there may be a few minor differences
between what is printed here and the rendition of each
circuit in Pro Race Driver.
Please note that different games will provide different
variations on the same circuit. For example, compare Monte
Carlo/Monaco (Temporary Street Circuit) in F1 2001 and Gran
Turismo 3; the circuit in the former is very tight and
narrow, just like the real-world circuit, whereas the latter
presents a generally wider circuit. Changes also occur
within the same game series; compare the Le Mans circuit in
Test Drive: Le Mans and Le Mans 24 Hours. Note also that
circuit owners are always considering changes (largely in the
effort to improve safety in the event of crashes) and that it
may take quite some time for games to reflect these changes;
the Monza circuit's initial chicane was changed in 2000 in an
attempt to slow cars somewhat, but it was not until F1 2001
that EA Sports made the real-world circuit's alterations to
its line of F1-based games.
For those fairly new to racing games - especially those games
with a heavy road racing emphasis, such as any F1-based game
and games based on endurance racing - it may be a good idea
to combine the driving details presented in this guide with
information of driving tips presented both in the previous
section of this guide and also in my General Racing/Driving
Guide, also available EXCLUSIVELY on FeatherGuides and
GameFAQs.
==============================================
INSTRUCTIONS: A1 RING
This course may only have seven corners, but it is still a
highly-challenging technical course for the drivers. The
circuit itself is built on a steep hillside, with the Paddock
area and the Pit Straight located at the lowest elevation of
the course. The significant elevation changes and poorly-
placed barriers make this a particularly challenging circuit
to safely navigate. This is also the circuit where Ferrari
made a major public relations blunder in 2002 by ordering
race leader Rubens Barrichello to pull aside in the final few
meters of the Austrian Grand Prix to allow teammate Michael
Schumacher to win a race which Barrichello had completely
dominated all weekend long (Practice, Qualifying, and Race).
Pit Straight: Long and straight; main grandstands to the
left, Pit Lane to the right. Rather mundane, except that the
entire Pit Straight has a slow uphill climb into the Castrol
Curve. The beginning of the Pit Straight (coming off
Mobilkom Curve) is also a bit bumpy.
Turn 1 (Castrol Curve): After a rather mundane Pit Straight,
the Castrol Curve is anything but mundane. This is a right-
hand uphill corner which requires moderate braking. The Pit
Lane rejoins the main course on the right at the exit of the
corner. Because of the steep slope of the hill, it is all
too easy to drive off the outside of the corner and into the
massive sand trap. If you lose your concentration and forget
even to slow down, you will likely find yourself airborne
once you hit the rumble strip; similarly, if you try to take
this corner at top speed, you may find yourself looking up at
the ground.
Straightaway: There are a few fades in the straightaway as
the course continues its uphill climb. The end of the
straightaway (approaching Remus Curve) has a suddenly steeper
grade and demands total concentration.
Turn 2 (Remus Curve): This is a TIGHT right-hand 'J' turn
requiring heavy or even severe braking, as well as COMPLETE
CONCENTRATION to navigate safely (even when not dealing with
traffic). The uphill climb of the circuit continues through
most of the turn, plus Remus Curve is even slightly banked
toward the OUTSIDE of the corner, making high or even
moderate speeds absolutely impossible here. Rolling the
right-side tires up on the thin patch of grass on the inside
of the Remus Curve will almost definitely result in loss of
control of your vehicle. Even worse, this is a blind corner
due to the barrier. Aggressive drivers will certainly end up
overrunning the Remus Curve on exit and find themselves
beached in the kitty litter. If you use the accelerator too
soon on exit, you WILL find yourself off-course.
Straightaway: Located at the highest elevation of the course,
this straightaway has a fade to the right, then another to
the left. After the second fade, prepare for braking before
arriving at the Gosser Curve. Make use of the distance-to-
corner markers, or else you risk overrunning Gosser Curve.
Turn 3 (Gosser Curve): Another tight right-hand corner, heavy
braking will be required here to avoid sliding off the course
and into yet another sand trap. This is also a blind corner,
due to the barrier on the inside of Gosser. The circuit
begins to slowly descend in elevation here.
Straightaway: This is actually NOT a straightaway at all; the
course map does not list the right-hand turn, but it is
definitely more than just a fade. If you overrun this, you
will end up in the same sand trap as before - it is simply
extended along the left side of the course from the outside
of Gosser until well beyond this unofficial corner.
Turn 4 (Niki Lauda Curve): This is a wide left-hand corner
which will require moderate or heavy braking, especially
since this is a blind corner due to the slope of the hill on
the inside of the turn; even if you slow greatly before
entering the corner, you will likely be tapping the brakes as
you progress through Niki Lauda. There is another wide patch
of sand on the outside of the corner, stretching almost all
the way to the entrance of the Gerhard Berger Curve. A short
straightaway separates Turns 4 and 5. Note that the circuit
turns to the left here; the patch of pavement which continues
straight forward will lead you into a barrier.
Turn 5 (Gerhard Berger Curve): This is almost identical to
the Niki Lauda Curve, but with an additional sand trap which
begins on the inside of the corner.
Straightaway: Again more than a fade but not listed as an
official corner, there is a 'turn' to the right shortly after
exiting the Gerhard Berger Curve. About two-thirds of the
way along, the course enters a scenic forested area; this
'transition' section is also rather bumpy.
Turn 6 (Jochen Rindt Curve): This is a blind right-hand
corner which can be taken with light braking, or just a small
lift of the accelerator; the best way to judge this corner is
by using the right-side barrier as a guide. Another sand
trap awaits those who run off the outside of the corner. A
short straightaway follows Jochen Rindt.
Turn 7 (Mobilkom Curve): This is a right-hand corner which
will require light or moderate braking. The Pit Lane begins
on the right just before the entry to Mobilkom, so be careful
not to bump cars slowing before going to the pits.
Pit Entry: Located just before the entrance to the Mobilkom
Curve, the Pit Lane is to the right. This is a very long pit
lane, so plan to stay out of here as much as possible!!!
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: ADELAIDE
The Adelaide venue is a temporary street circuit which was
one of the true gems of F1 racing. Unfortunately, the Grand
Prix of Australia is now held instead at Albert Park in
Melbourne (which is itself an excellent race venue), but,
while Albert Park is definitely a beautiful place to hold a
race, it does not have nearly the mystique and the charm that
is found on the challenging streets of Adelaide.
(Fortunately, Australia's excellent V8 SuperCar series still
uses the Adelaide circuit.)
Turns 1 and 2: At the end of the Pit Straight, this very
tricky section begins with a TIGHT left-right chicane which
requires moderate or heavy braking; cars will definitely pile
up here if there is an incident on the opening lap of the
race, as there is virtually nowhere to go should an accident
block the raceway due to the closeness of the barriers
(although they are fortunately NOT nearly as close as at
Monaco). After a VERY brief straightaway, there is a dogleg
to the left.
Turn 3: Shortly after passing underneath the pedestrian
bridge, drivers need to begin braking for the blind right-
hand Turn 3. Because the white-painted barriers are so close
to the circuit in this opening segment of the Adelaide street
circuit, it can be VERY difficult to spot exactly where the
circuit bends until one can see the very short escape road
ahead... and by this time, it is really too late to safely
make it through the right-hand right-angle corner.
Turn 4: About one city block beyond Turn 3, this is a
perpendicular left-hand corner requiring moderate braking.
Turn 5: About one city block beyond Turn 4, this is a
perpendicular right-hand corner requiring moderate braking.
Turns 6 and 7: About one city block beyond Turn 5, this is a
fast left-right chicane which can actually be taken at full
throttle with the proper tight racing line. If taken at full
throttle, beware the barrier on exiting the chicane. Begin
braking at corner exit for Turn 8.
Turn 8: This is a rough right-hand corner which requires
moderate braking beginning with the exit of Turn 7.
Turn 9: This is a rough right-hand corner which requires
light braking and a wide racing line... but beware the
grandstands on the left on corner exit.
Straightaway: This is the single longest straightaway at
Adelaide. Powerful acceleration out of Turn 8 is required,
and only the BAREST of tapping on the brakes is needed for
Turn 9 to enable excellent passing opportunities along this
immense straightaway and the entry to Turn 10.
Turn 10: This tight and nasty right-hand J-turn requires
heavy braking, especially given the incredibly-fast speeds
attained along the previous straightaway. This is an
excellent to pass on braking entering this J-turn.
Turn 11: Immediately following a left-hand dogleg, this is a
J-turn to the left, requiring moderate braking.
Turn 12: This final corner is tricky. Pit Entry is
immediately on the right on corner entry, whereas the main
circuit uses the outside racing line. The Pit Lane barrier
is set back at corner exit, which means that passing can
occur by essentially 'shortcutting' the corner... but then
drivers risk ramming the Pit Lane barrier by 'shortcutting'
the corner too much.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: BATHURST
This 'world-famous' counter-clockwise circuit (in Australia
and New Zealand) hosted its first 24-hour race in November
2002. The circuit map certainly presents a mostly-technical
circuit, but it simply does NOT do justice to just HOW
technical this circuit is... and drivers must certainly have
their hands full and their hearts in their throats while
trying to race here at night in the new 24-hour event!!!!!
What makes this circuit so difficult is that the most
technical section consists of many tight and fast-approaching
twists and turns combined with the continual ascents and
descents in the highly-scenic mountains, so that when drivers
finally exit the mountainous section, their nerves are
extremely frayed. While speed is obviously important in auto
racing, the trick to Bathurst is to continually maintain a
1,000,000,000% concentration level for the entire race.
Pit Straight: This is nearly the shortest straightaway of the
circuit, and is the farthest point from the highly-technical
mountainous section.
Turn 1 (Hell Corner): This may not seem like much on the
circuit map, but due to the immense speeds attained on Pit
Straight and the near-lack of recovery room for those who
miss the braking zone, this left-hand right-angle corner is
an extremely dangerous place. It is important to begin
braking rather early, especially on the first lap of a race,
to try to avoid other cars' accidents (and debris) ahead.
Straightaway (Mountain Straight): This straightaway leaves
the vast, flat, open area of the valley and begins the ascent
into the mountains. More and more trees appear alongside
either side of the straightaway as the elevation rises, and
is in some respect reminiscent of the Spa-Francorchamps
circuit in Belgium. Mountain Straight has its own crest
about halfway along the straightaway, then a long dip before
renewing its ascent.
Turn 2: This right-hand 105-degree angle seems rather gentle
on the circuit map, but the ascent of the circuit truly gains
momentum here; this fact combined with the inside barrier's
proximity to the raceway itself makes this corner semi-blind
and extremely difficult, so pristine knowledge of this corner
is a necessity to keep from sliding off the pavement. The
main ascent of the mountains begins at the entry of Turn 2,
so car power will certainly be a necessity... although that
power must be continually tempered with both strong braking
and feather-light throttle control.
Note: From the exit of Turn 2 to the end of the mountainous
section, there pavement is almost always directly bounded by
barriers and/or sheer cliff faces. This means that there is
literally NOWHERE to go in case of an incident, and thus the
raceway can quite easily become blocked. This also means
that missing a braking zone will result in the near-instant
destruction of the front of a vehicle.
Turn 3 (Cutting): This is a left-hand decreasing-radius
hairpin corner with NO room for error; missing the braking
zone will destroy the front of the car. Cutting is a blind
corner, so it is imperative to go VERY slowly here,
especially since this is a prime place for accidents to occur
as cars ram and bounce off the barriers here.
Turn 4: This right-hand corner is rather gentle, but the
circuit has a brief crest here which can potentially play
havoc with light-weight, high-power vehicles. This caveat
aside, it should be possible to power through Turn 4 at full
acceleration without incident (unless blocked by traffic).
Turns 5-6: Here, minor braking will be needed to keep off the
barriers (still adjacent to the raceway) as the grade of the
ascent increases through the right-hand Turn 5. Immediately
afterward is the gentle left-hand Turn 6, which leads onto a
brief straightaway.
Turn 7: This long left-hand corner requires at least light
braking at its midpoint, which is a major dip in elevation.
This dip will play havoc with virtually any vehicle, but car
control will be EXTREMELY difficult here if a car is even
slightly loose (i.e., the rear of the car tends to swing
about).
Turn 8: This is a gentle left-hand corner which can be taken
at full acceleration.
Straightaway (Skyline): As the name suggests, this is the
highest elevation of the Bathurst circuit (although the
mountain continues to climb in elevation to the right of the
raceway), and a nice view of the vast plains can be seen both
ahead and to the left of the flow of traffic. However,
taking the time to admire this scenery will bring death and
destruction in the Esses.
Turns 9-15 (Esses): Simply put, this is a nail-biter. The
circuit makes a steep downhill descent among the tightest,
twistiest turns; again, there is really nowhere to recover
should a driver miss a braking zone. This section is where
strong braking is REALLY needed. Those using manual
transmission can use mountain-driving tactics and gear down
one or two gears lower than usual, allowing for 'engine-
braking' to occur to save the vehicle's true brakes.
Turn 16 (Forest Elbow): This is a sharp left-hand corner on a
steep downhill run which is semi-blind on approach. There is
STILL no recovery room for those who miss the corner, so it
is imperative that all drivers brake early and HARD for
Forest Elbow.
Turn 17: After a brief straightaway, this is a gentle left-
hand corner coming out of the mountainous area. No braking
should be required here.
Straightaway (Conrod Straight): This is the single longest
straightaway of the Bathurst circuit. The descent is very
gradual now as the circuit rejoins the vast desolate valley,
the trees thinning quickly. The barriers on either side of
the raceway slowly begin to give way as well. Fortunately,
Chase can be easily seen ahead (in daytime conditions).
Turns 18-20 (Chase): This is a gentle right-hand mini-kink
followed by a sharp left-right. There is no barrier on the
inside of Chase to prevent cars from simply barreling
straight ahead, but the entire area IS filled with kitty
litter to severely slow those drivers attempting this tactic.
Moderate or hard braking will be required for Turn 19, and
drivers may need to tap the brakes again for Turn 20.
Turn 21: After a short straightaway, this is a left-hand
right-angle corner onto Pit Straight, with Pit Entry just
before the entry of the corner on the left side of the
pavement. There is some recovery room for Turn 21, but not
much.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: BRANDS HATCH GRAND PRIX
The Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit is a fun circuit for
racing. Situated within a natural bowl, it is easy for many
spectators to see the bulk of the racing action from many
points along the circuit. However, traffic is almost always
a problem for drivers. Interestingly, along almost the
entire circuit, drivers can easily hear the other cars on
other sections of the circuit, thus testifying to the compact
nature of this venue.
Pit Straight (Brabham Straight): This is the longest single
straightaway of the circuit, so powerful acceleration is
required out of Clark Curve to make passes or pull away from
challengers.
Turn 1 (Paddock Hill Bend): This long sweeping right-hand
corner can be tricky at full acceleration, so a gentle
tapping of brakes before entering Turn 1 is key. This is
nearly a double-apex corner, so take care with the racing
line, especially since this begins the downhill descent of
the circuit. Taking this corner at full throttle is likely
to cause the car to spin before achieving corner exit.
Turn 2 (Druid's Bend): This right-hand hairpin is the
tightest corner of the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit.
Passing on braking here can be advantageous, but is NOT for
the newcomers - especially on the opening lap of a race!!!
There is plenty of sand to the outside of the hairpin for
those who miss the braking zone.
Turn 3 (Graham Hill Bend): Experts can handle this left-hand
corner at full throttle if unencumbered by traffic, although
slight braking is preferred here. The course is at its
lowest elevation here.
Straightaway (Cooper Straight): This straightaway has a
slight bend to the left. While not nearly as long as Brabham
Straight, it is a great place for low-downforce cars to gain
race positions.
Turn 4 (Surtees): This left-hand corner requires light
braking to keep to the pavement, and flows quickly toward
Pilgrim's Drop.
Straightaway: Following Surtees, the circuit has its longest
straightaway. About halfway along this straightaway begins
Pilgrim's Drop, which - despite the 'misnomer' - is a gentle
descent into Hawthorne Bend.
Turn 5 (Hawthorne Bend): This right-hand right-angle corner
will require light to moderate braking, but really adept
drivers should be able to get away with only a very slight
tapping of the brakes through Hawthorne Bend as necessary.
The entry to Hawthorne Bend marks the beginning of an uphill
climb for the circuit; this makes this corner a bit more
challenging than it would originally appear from the circuit
map.
Straightaway (Derek Minter Straight): This straightaway
continues the gentle uphill climb of the circuit (which
begins with the entry to Hawthorne Bend).
Turn 6 (Westfield Bend): This is a long right-hand corner
which can generally be taken with light or moderate braking;
only TRUE experts can safely navigate Westfield Bend without
ANY braking whatsoever (and this will really only be due to
prime car tuning). Driver who carry too much speed through
Westfield Bend will likely find themselves beached in one of
the wide sand traps to the outside of the corner.
Turns 7-9 (Dingle Dell Corner): Shortly after Westfield Bend
is a right-left-right chicane complex. If unencumbered by
traffic, it is possible to essentially shortcut Turn 8 and
make a wide right-hand sweeping arc. Otherwise, moderate
braking will be required here to keep to the pavement (or
only light braking if the traffic through the chicane is
spread wide enough to allow making ample use of the rumble
strips).
Turn 10 (Stirling's Bend): This is a left-hand right-angle
corner coming very quickly after Dingle Dell Corner (the
right-left-right chicane). Moderate braking is a requirement
here, especially since there is VERY little grass on the
outside of the pavement before the barrier will stop any
runaway vehicles. This opens onto Clearways, another long
straightaway, so excellent acceleration out of Stirling's
Bend will pay dividends for gaining race positions.
Turn 11 (Clark Curve): Slight braking may be desired entering
this long right-hand corner, but then it is imperative to
power hard all the way to Turn 1!!! Pit Entry is on the
right entering Clark Curve.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: BRANDS HATCH INDY
The Brands Hatch Indy circuit is a small but fun circuit for
racing. Situated within a natural bowl, it is easy for many
spectators to see the bulk of the racing action from many
points along the circuit. However, traffic is almost always
a problem for drivers. Interestingly, along almost the
entire circuit, drivers can easily hear the other cars on
other sections of the circuit, thus testifying to the compact
nature of this venue.
Pit Straight (Brabham Straight): This is the longest single
straightaway of the circuit, so powerful acceleration is
required out of Clark Curve to make passes or pull away from
challengers.
Turn 1 (Paddock Hill Bend): This long sweeping right-hand
corner can be tricky at full acceleration, so a gentle
tapping of brakes before entering Turn 1 is key. This is
nearly a double-apex corner, so take care with the racing
line, especially since this begins the downhill descent of
the circuit. Taking this corner at full throttle is likely
to cause the car to spin before achieving corner exit.
Turn 2 (Druid's Bend): This right-hand hairpin is the
tightest corner of the Brands Hatch Indy circuit. Passing on
braking here can be advantageous, but is NOT for the
newcomers - especially on the opening lap of a race!!! There
is plenty of sand to the outside of the hairpin for those who
miss the braking zone.
Turn 3 (Graham Hill Bend): Experts can handle this left-hand
corner at full throttle if unencumbered by traffic, although
slight braking is preferred here. The course is at its
lowest elevation here.
Straightaway (Cooper Straight): This straightaway has a
slight bend to the left. While not nearly as long as Brabham
Straight, it is a great place for low-downforce cars to gain
race positions.
Turn 4 (Surtees): This left-hand corner requires light
braking to keep to the pavement, and flows quickly into
McLaren.
Turn 5 (McLaren): This long sweeping right-hand corner can
generally be taken at full acceleration.
Turn 6 (Clark Curve): Slight braking may be desired entering
this long right-hand corner, but then it is imperative to
power hard all the way to Turn 1!!! Pit Entry is on the
right entering Clark Curve.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: BRISTOL
First used for NASCAR in 1961, Bristol Motor Speedway is the
shortest track on the current NASCAR calendar at 0.533 miles
(0.853 kilometers) - thus it is known as 'The World's Fastest
Half-mile.' Formerly asphalt, the Bristol, Tennessee, USA,
circuit was converted to concrete in 1992, and boasts
attendance easily topping 150,000 for NASCAR events. The
banking is thirty-six degrees in the corners and sixteen
degrees on the straightaways. Passing is difficult at
Bristol due to the compact nature of the circuit; the only
easy part about racing at Bristol is the ability to be
involved in accidents.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: CANBERRA
Canberra is a rather difficult street circuit. This venue is
not nearly as tight and compact as at Vancouver, but the
corners are definitely FAR worse (and also more numerous),
requiring much slower speeds. It is important to keep to the
left on Pit Straight to ensure avoiding Pit Lane... unless a
pit stop is truly needed or required.
Pit Straight: Pit Entry is on the right half of Pit Straight,
so it is important for cars remaining on the main circuit to
keep to the left to ensure they do not accidentally go into
Pit Lane itself. Also, the Pit Lane barrier is difficult to
see on approach, so drivers should commit to either the far-
left or the far-right until they have safely passed the
beginning of this barrier.
Turn 1: This is a severe-braking right-hand right-angle
corner which will likely see a lot of bumping and grinding on
the first lap of a race. During a race, Pit Exit is at the
apex of the corner, so it is important for those coming from
Pit Straight to keep hard to the left, and those coming from
Pit Lane to keep hard to the right.
Turn 2: IMMEDIATELY after exiting Turn 1, this is a long
sweeping left-hand corner on a slightly-wider raceway. Full
acceleration can be used here, and there is definitely plenty
of room to make a well-timed pass. However, drivers must be
careful as traffic from Pit Lane merges with the higher-speed
traffic coming off Pit Straight.
Turns 3-6: This is an elongated right-left-left-right bus
stop chicane. Moderate or severe braking will be required
for Turn 3 and Turn 5; careful throttle management will be
needed for Turn 6 to ensure avoiding the outside barrier.
Turns 7-9: This is a left-right-right complex which in total
acts as nearly a hairpin corner. Moderate braking will be
needed here, with gentle throttle control throughout. In
fact, this section is easier if Turns 8 and 9 are treated as
a hairpin corner, making a wide berth to hit both apexes just
right. Note that there is an access road BETWEEN Turn 8 and
Turn 9, but this is NOT part of the official raceway;
nonetheless, this can be rather confusing until the
intricacies of this circuit have been committed to memory.
Turn 10: This right-hand corner requires moderate braking.
Straightaway: This is not 'straight' at all. Instead, this
'straightaway' is one long continuous sweeping bend to the
left. there are three bridges over this 'straightaway;' it
is best to begin braking for Turn 11 once beyond the third
bridge.
Turn 11: This right-hand corner requires moderate braking.
Turns 12 and 13: This is a VERY slow left-right chicane, so
moderate or even severe braking will be required. Due to the
VERY slow speed required here for safe passage, this is a
prime place for cars to pile up if one driver is too
aggressive.
Turns 14-16: This right-left-right chicane is just as slow as
the previous chicane. What makes this worse, however, is
that the left-hand corner of this chicane is an actual
hairpin in its own right!!! Fortunately, once past the apex
of the chicane's own hairpin turn, the right side of the
raceway opens up, so those drivers using too much speed
through the hairpin portion of the chicane will have a nice
expanse of grass to greet them instead of the usual immovable
barrier.
Turns 17 and 18: Immediately after exiting the chicane, the
raceway curves twice to the right. These are gentle curves,
but the second will still require light braking since the
momentum of the vehicle will try to force it into the left-
side barrier. This leads onto Pit Straight.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: CATALUNYA
The Catalunya circuit is challenging, especially the two
hairpins and the final corners of the race. This is the same
circuit configuration used in modern F1 racing.
Pit Straight: As usual, incredible speeds can be attained
here. Watch for cars rejoining the race from the right side
of the straightaway about two-thirds of the way along its
length.
Turn 1 (Elf): This is a right-hand corner which requires
moderate braking. Be careful not to hug the inside of the
corner too tightly, or you will damage your right-side tires
on the barrier. Strong acceleration out of Turn 1 creates
great passing opportunities all the way to Repsol.
Attempting to take Turn 1 at top speed will either cause you
to lose control as you run up on the rumble strips, or send
you too far off course to survive Turn 2 intact.
Turn 2 (Elf): Immediately following Turn 1, the left-hand
Turn 2 can usually be taken at top acceleration. With strong
acceleration out of Turn 1, this is a prime passing zone.
Turn 3 (Seat): A sweeping right-hand increasing-radius corner
which can be taken at full speed with a flawless racing line.
This is also a good place to pass slower cars, especially if
you have the inside line.
Turn 4 (Repsol): This is a semi-blind right-hand hairpin
corner which requires moderate or heavy braking. The barrier
on the inside of the corner rests almost directly against the
track, and blocks your view around the corner. This can
actually be a good place to pass on braking, but only with
extreme caution (and usually only if the car you wish to pass
takes the wide line around the corner). Don't come too hot
into this corner or else you will find yourself in the sand.
After clearing the first 90 degrees, you should be able to
accelerate fairly well if not encumbered by traffic.
Turn 5: After a very short straightaway, this is a semi-blind
left-hand hairpin, a bit tighter than Turn 4. Moderate or
heavy braking will be needed here, or you will definitely
find yourself in the kitty litter.
Straightaway: This straightaway fades to the left. Strong
acceleration out of Turn 5 can create passing opportunities,
especially in the braking zone for Wuth.
Turn 6 (Wuth): With a good racing line, you should be able to
brake lightly to clear this semi-blind, slightly-downhill,
left-hand corner. Beware the barrier on the inside of Wuth.
The exit of Wuth has an immediate fade to the right, so do
not commit too much to turning left here, or the front-left
of the car will be shaking hands with the barrier.
Turn 7 (Campsa): This right-hand corner can be taken at full
speed with a flawless racing line. Note that the official
circuit is to the right; do not drive directly ahead onto
another patch of pavement, or you will be assigned a Stop-Go
Penalty.
Turn 8 (La Cacsa): Severe braking is required for this left-
hand corner. While not suggested, you may be able to pass
other cars on braking here. As with Wuth, stay off the
rumble strips and grass on the inside of the turn, or you
will risk losing control of the car. This is a 'J' turn, and
the corner seems to go on forever before you reach the exit.
Turn 9 (Banc Sabadeau): Shortly following Turn 8, moderate or
heavy braking will be needed here for the right-hand, upward-
sloping corner. This is also a 'J' turn which is nearly a
double-apex corner. If you need a recovery area anywhere on
the course, it will most likely be here. It is possible to
pass slower cars here by tightly hugging the inside of the
turn, even running the right-side tires on the rumble strips
or just slightly in the grass.
Turn 10: Light braking may be needed for this right-hand
corner. The key here is to truly hug the inside of the turn
and accelerate strongly through the exit. Watch for slow
cars here preparing to go to Pit Lane for servicing.
Turn 11: Entering this right-hand corner, the Pit Lane begins
on the right, so be on the lookout for very slow cars here.
If you take this final corner too tightly, or make a VERY
late decision to go to the pits, you will certainly damage
the front of the car on a barrier.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: CHARLOTTE
One of the favorite circuits of NASCAR racing, Charlotte is a
tri-oval, with Pit Straight actually curved slightly along
its entire length. The corners can accommodate two-wide
racing if necessary, but single-file racing is best through
the turns.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: DIJON PRENOIS
Located in southern France, Circuit Dijon Prenois is a small,
hilly, and FUN circuit. Pit Straight is 1.1km (0.7 miles) in
length, whereas the rest of the circuit continually twists
and turns in the hills.
Pit Straight: This is really the only true straightaway of
the entire circuit. At 1.1km (0.7 miles) in length, this
straightaway really should be taken at lower than optimal
speeds, due to the necessity for high downforce on the rest
of the circuit.
Turns 1-2 (Villeroy): This is a double-apex right-hand
corner. Turn 1 can be taken with light braking, but moderate
braking will be necessary for Turn 2.
Turns 3-5 (Hourglass S'es): Careful, precision steering will
be needed to keep the car on the pavement while still
negotiating traffic at top speed through these right-left-
right S-curves. Turn 5 is sharper than the other corners.
There is a continual rise in elevation throughout this
section of the circuit.
Turn 6 (Crossover): The shorter configuration of the circuit
has simply a moderate left-hand corner here, but the main
configuration uses a 135-degree left-hand corner heading
toward the Parabolique. Light to moderate braking will be
required for Crossover, and plenty of sand on the outside of
the corner awaits the not-so-focused drivers.
Turn 7 (Parabolique): This is a right-hand heavy-braking
near-hairpin corner which is made much more difficult due to
the sudden steep climb in elevation beginning at the entry of
the Parabolique. This means that much of the corner is
unsighted, thus drivers must have PRISTINE knowledge of this
corner in order to truly power through the Parabolique at any
great speed. There is fortunately a sand trap on the outside
of the Parabolique to collect runaway vehicles, but it is
still possible to clear the kitty litter and severely damage
the car against the barrier.
Turn 8: This left-hand corner is a long moderate-braking
corner at the crest of the circuit. There is a wide sand
trap on the outside of the turn for those who overshoot the
corner, which is especially important since this is a semi-
blind corner until the car is safely at the top of the rise.
Turn 9 (Combe): This right-hand corner can be easily
negotiated with only slight braking as needed.
Turn 10 (Pouas Corner): This final corner is a long right-
hand sweeping turn leading back onto the immense Pit
Straight. Slight tapping of the brakes may be necessary for
Pouas Corner, especially in high-powered cars. Pit Entry is
on the right approximately 1/4 of the way along Pit Straight.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: DONINGTON PARK
This popular British venue is the host of many events, and
has been included in other games. The outside of almost
every corner has a very small strip of grass between the
pavement and the sand trap. The Grand Prix configuration
inverts the final chicane of the National configuration and
adds two lengthy straightaways with two hairpin corners
behind the paddock area.
Turn 1: This right-hand J-turn requires moderate braking, and
plenty of patience at the start of a race as traffic really
jams up here.
Turn 2: This is a long, gentle right-hand semi-corner,
sloping downhill along its entire length.
Turn 3: Continuing downhill, this left-hand corner will only
require light braking, if the brakes are needed at all. Due
to the downhill slope, it may be difficult to see the apex of
the corner as you approach.
Turn 4: Immediately after Turn 3, the course turns uphill to
the right here, with light or moderate braking required.
Turn 5: After passing underneath the pedestrian bridge, the
course turns to the left here. No braking is required.
Turn 6: This is really just a left-hand fade.
Turn 7: Moderate braking is necessary as the course continues
uphill through this right-hand turn. The barrier on the left
comes rather close to the pavement, so there is not much
grass and sand to stop you if you miss your braking zone.
Turn 8: This lengthy, sweeping right-hand J-turn will require
light braking to keep out of the grass and sand as the course
continues slowly uphill. This corner opens out onto the
longest straightaway at Donington.
Turns 9-10: Shortly after passing underneath the big Dunlop
tire, begin braking for the chicane. This is a tight left-
right combination with NO room for error. The barrier on the
inside of Turn 9 prevents shortcutting, and the sand trap to
the inside of Turn 10 severely hinders anyone attempting to
shortcut that corner.
Turn 11: After a significant straightaway, this is a tight
right-hand hairpin turn onto another significant straightaway
behind the Paddock Suite. Essentially, think of this as
changing runways on an airport circuit (such as at Sebring)
and you should do fairly well here. Moderate braking is
required here. If you miss your braking zone, there is a
wide patch of kitty litter to the outside of the corner.
Turn 12: The final corner of the circuit is a left-hand tight
hairpin. Again, think of this as changing runways on an
airport circuit. Moderate braking will be needed here.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: EASTERN CREEK
This 3.93-kilometer (2.456-mile) circuit hosts V8 Supercars,
many Formula series, a number of sports cars and sports
sedans series, touring cars, production cars, and numerous
national and support motorcycle series. The pit straight
even incorporates a drag strip, so racecars here can make use
of this wider section to pass large packs of slower traffic.
This is a high-speed technical circuit, and those with
moderately- or extremely-loose cars will likely find
themselves slamming the barriers and/or sliding through the
many patches of kitty litter.
Pit Straight: The longest straightaway at Eastern Creek, Pit
Straight also doubles as a drag strip :-) Pit Entry is
approximately 1/3 of the way along Pit Straight.
Turn 1: This is a long left-hand corner requiring light
braking after the immense length of Pit Straight and the high
speeds attained there.
Turn 2: This left-hand hairpin corner requires moderate or
even heavy braking on approach, and perhaps slight braking
throughout. This is a somewhat-tight corner, so it is easy
to misjudge speed and end up slipping off the pavement and
getting stuck in the grass on the outside of the corner.
Turn 3: Almost immediately following Turn 2, this right-hand
corner may require light braking to keep from slipping out
into the kitty litter on corner exit.
Turn 4: This right-hand corner needs moderate braking to keep
to the pavement, although a wide sand-filled recovery area is
available if necessary.
Turn 5: Just after Turn 4, Turn 5 is a left-hand corner
requiring moderate braking.
Turns 6-7: Turn 6 is a quick right-hand flick leading
immediately into the left-hand sweeping Turn 7. Light
braking can be useful for Turn 6, whereas moderate braking is
required for and throughout Turn 7 to keep the vehicle on the
pavement.
Turn 8: Light or moderate braking is needed for this left-
hand corner.
Turn 9: This right-hand hairpin requires moderate or even
heavy braking.
Turns 10-11: Turn 10 is a quick right-hand flick leading
immediately into the left-hand sweeping Turn 11. Light
braking can be useful for Turn 10, whereas moderate braking
is required for and throughout Turn 11 to keep the vehicle on
the pavement. This leads onto Pit Straight.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: FUJI
This Japanese circuit is perhaps most notable to North
American classic video game enthusiasts from its appearance
in Atari's Pole Position series in the stand-up arcades of
the 1980s. There are a few of these classic Pole Position
and Pole Position II arcade boxes still in existence,
although the best bet for finding these games now is on the
various gaming consoles. However, those who prefer the
version of the circuit in the Pole Position series will be
rather disappointed at the chicanes added along the faster
sections of the Fuji circuit.
Turns 1-2 (Daiichi Corner) This is a double-apex right-hand
near-hairpin corner. Due to the immense length of Pit
Straight, HARD braking will be required before even thinking
of entering Daiichi Corner, and moderate braking will be
required throughout this section. There is a nice patch of
kitty litter on the outside of Daiichi Corner, but drivers
should not expect it to stop a runaway car before the vehicle
slams hard into the wall when overshooting this section of
the circuit.
Turns 3 and 4 (Sumtory Corner): Ahead, a barrier can be seen;
this blocks direct access to the smooth left-hand corner Pole
Position enthusiasts know so well; instead, players are
forced straight ahead into a tight left-right complex around
the barrier, so moderate or hard braking will be needed here
on entry. It is possible to power out of Turn 3 and through
Turn 4 without braking, unless the car has some severe grip
problems and/or is extremely loose (i.e., the back end of the
car tends to swing about).
Turn 5 (100R): If the driver's car is properly tuned, there
should be no trouble with powering through this wide right-
hand sweeping turn, even when navigating traffic. However,
cars which are moderately or extremely loose will have plenty
of trouble here, ESPECIALLY if encumbered by traffic.
Turn 6 (Hairpin): This left-hand corner is aptly named.
Unfortunately, Hairpin comes at the dip following 100R, which
can make this corner extremely tricky as the car inherently
loses traction; the proximity of the barrier is definitely
too close for comfort here due to this drop in elevation (the
elevation change is certainly not significant, but it is just
enough to cause grip problems in many cars).
Turn 7 (MC Corner): This long, sweeping, right-hand corner is
another prime place for full-throttle acceleration.
Turns 8-10 (Dunlop Corner): This right-left-right chicane
will also disappoint Pole Position enthusiasts. Heavy
braking will be needed for Turn 8, with moderate braking
required for Turn 9. Turn 10 should be easily taken at full
acceleration. Fortunately, the barrier forcing cars to take
the chicane is easily visible from a distance on approach.
Turn 11 (Last Corner): This aptly-named corner is the final
sweeping long right-hand corner of the Fuji circuit.
Moderately- and extremely-loose cars will have difficulty
here; otherwise, only a slight tapping of the brakes MAY be
necessary for Last Corner.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: HOCKENHEIM LONG
Surrounded by multitudes of trees which make much of the
circuit rather dark in wet or overcast races, this is the
fastest course used for F1 racing in recent years. If not
for the Jim Clark, Brems, and Ayrton Senna chicanes, cars
would be flying around the course in top gear all the way
from the North Curve (Turn 1) to the entry of the Stadium
(Turn 10). Except for the right side of the Pit Straight,
there is more than enough room to pull well off the pavement
should a car have a serious problem on any part of the
circuit. Interestingly, Hockenheim's Stadium segment is very
similar to an unnamed final segment at Silverstone.
Important Note: These driving instructions are for the old
Hockenheim circuit.
Pit Straight: This is an extremely short straightaway
compared to the rest of the course.
Turn 1 (North Curve): This right-hand corner will require
moderate braking to keep out of the expansive kitty litter.
The Pit Lane rejoins the course from the right at the exit of
North Curve. Acceleration out of North Curve is of key
importance due to the length of the ensuing straightaway.
Straightaway: Immensely lengthy and lined with trees, speed
is of the utmost importance here. The entire straightaway is
an extremely gentle fade to the right. Drift to the left
when you reach the grandstands.
Turns 2 and 3 (Jim Clark Chicane): Former games in the series
had a patch of pavement heading straight off Turn 2, allowing
for shortcutting of the chicane; this is no longer possible,
as a nasty barrier blocks any shortcutting attempts.
Moderate or heavy braking will be required for Turn 2 (or
light braking if not in traffic and using a FLAWLESS racing
line which makes judicious use of the rumble strips), but
full acceleration can be taken leading out of the chicane.
Straightaway: Yet another long, sweeping straightaway which
fades calmly to the right, so powerful acceleration out of
the Jim Clark Chicane is imperative to keep from getting
passed. Drift to the left before entering the Brems Chicane,
and begin braking much earlier than for the Jim Clark
Chicane.
Turns 4 and 5 (Brems Chicane): The original course
configuration (used in older F1 racing games) did not have a
chicane here, and the original pavement remains. However,
the official course suddenly cuts tightly to the right and
then cuts tightly to the left to rejoin the old pavement.
Moderate braking will be needed for Turn 4, and light braking
for Turn 5. This right-left chicane has a continual downhill
slope, adding to the difficulty of the chicane. Even with
the Flags option disabled, the angle of the old pavement to
the official chicane is such that it is impossible to blast
through this segment at top speed without spinning the car
through the kitty litter.
Turn 6 (East Curve): This is a very wide right-hand corner
which can be taken at top speed. Strong acceleration out of
Brems is key to assist in passing here.
Straightaway: This is yet another long straightaway, but
without any fades. Drift to the right for the Ayrton Senna
Chicane.
Turns 7-9 (Ayrton Senna Chicane): DO NOT follow the old
course pavement directly ahead unless you really WANT to
collide with the brand-new barrier. The official course
turns to the left, cuts to the right, and eases left again.
It is actually possible to speed into Turn 7 at top speed,
lift off the throttle through Turn 8, and accelerate quickly
out of the chicane - but this is certainly NOT recommended.
Straightaway: The final long straightaway of the course has
extra pavement on the left - this could potentially be a
place to pass large numbers of cars. This extra pavement
begins shortly after the exit of the Ayrton Senna Chicane,
and ends at the entry of the Stadium; thus, if you are on
this 'extra' pavement entering the Stadium, you will have a
better racing line for Turn 10, allowing you to navigate the
corner with less.
Turns 10-13 (The Stadium): This is similar to the final
segment of the Silverstone circuit. However, do not expect
to drive The Stadium the same way you would the final segment
at Silverstone.
Turn 10 (Entrance to the Stadium: Agip Curve): Light
braking may be required here, but you should be able to
pass through the Agip Curve without any braking at all
(especially if your racing line began with the 'extra'
pavement on the left before the Stadium). A short
straightaway follows.
Turn 11 (Continuing through the Stadium: Sachscurve): This
is a left-hand wide hairpin turn, requiring moderate
braking. Be careful not to end up in the grass, either
entering or exiting the corner, and beware the barrier.
Straightaway (Continuing through the Stadium): This short
straightaway has a fade to the left, followed by a fade to
the right.
Turns 12 and 13 (Exiting the Stadium: Opel): The first
right-hand corner is somewhat tight, and heavy braking
will be required here; the old course rejoins the current
course from the left on exit, so if you run wide in this
corner, you can likely recover here using the old
pavement. The final corner of the circuit is a right-hand
turn which will require moderate braking. The Pit Lane
entry is to the right just before the official Turn 13.
Pit Entry: The Pit Lane begins to the right at the entry of
Turn 13 (the final corner of the Stadium).
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: HOCKENHEIM SHORT
In 2002, the long, traditional Hockenheim circuit was
dismantled and replaced by a much shorter version. F1
traditionalists worldwide were FURIOUS about this change, as
the shorter circuit is no longer scenic and is really too
compact for F1 racing (although still better than A1-Ring in
Austria). However, the new, severely-shortened version of
Hockenheim still retains its characteristic Stadium section,
so at least some measure of the old circuit's tradition and
history remains. Interestingly, the new, shorter circuit
supposedly now handles more spectators than the old, longer
circuit.
Pit Straight: This is an extremely short straightaway
compared to the rest of the course.
Turn 1 (North Curve): This right-hand corner will require
moderate braking to keep out of the expansive kitty litter.
The Pit Lane rejoins the course from the right at the exit of
North Curve. Acceleration out of North Curve is of key
importance due to the length of the ensuing straightaway.
Turn 2: After a nearly-nonexistent straightaway comes the
right-hand 120-degree Turn 2. This corner requires some
moderate braking, and it is very easy to slide off the
pavement here. Unfortunately, the barrier on the inside of
the corner is really TOO close to the pavement, so a driver
trying to pass to the inside of a slower car will have
literally nowhere to go should the slower car suddenly cut
inward in the corner. Just at the exit of Turn 2 is a quick
fade to the left.
Turn 3: After a brief straightaway is the left-hand 45-degree
Turn 3. It is best to begin braking for Turn 4 at the exit
of Turn 3.
Turn 4: Almost immediately after Turn 3 is the right-hand
135-degree Turn 4, leading back onto the old (longer)
Hockenheim circuit just before entering The Stadium.
Moderate or heavy braking will be required for Turn 4,
although there is a significant amount of paved swing-out
room so that those in need of a quick recovery can briefly
slam on the handbrake to keep off the outside barrier.
Turns 5-8 (The Stadium): This is similar to the final segment
of the Silverstone circuit. However, do not expect to drive
The Stadium the same way you would the final segment at
Silverstone.
Turn 5 (Entrance to the Stadium: Agip Curve): Light
braking may be required here, but you should be able to
pass through the Agip Curve without any braking at all
(especially if your racing line began with the 'extra'
pavement on the left before the Stadium). A short
straightaway follows.
Turn 6 (Continuing through the Stadium: Sachscurve): This
is a left-hand wide hairpin turn, requiring moderate
braking. Be careful not to end up in the grass, either
entering or exiting the corner, and beware the barrier.
Straightaway (Continuing through the Stadium): This short
straightaway has a fade to the left, followed by a fade to
the right.
Turns 7 and 8 (Exiting the Stadium: Opel): The first
right-hand corner is somewhat tight, and heavy braking
will be required here; the old course rejoins the current
course from the left on exit, so if you run wide in this
corner, you can likely recover here using the old
pavement. The final corner of the circuit is a right-hand
turn which will require moderate braking. The Pit Lane
entry is to the right just before the official Turn 8.
Pit Entry: The Pit Lane begins to the right at the entry of
Turn 8 (the final corner of the Stadium).
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: KNOCKHILL
This circuit is a nightmare for car set-ups, as there are
many tight corners (some with their own significant elevation
changes) connected by significant straightaways.
Pit Straight: Pit Straight is on an uphill slope, which may
make standing starts somewhat tricky. It is also quite
lengthy. Pit Entry is on the left, where the slots of the
starting grid are located; this is a very short Pit Lane.
Turn 1: This heavy-braking right-hand corner is made even
more difficult because it heads downhill. It is very easy to
foul up here and get caught out in the sand on the outside of
Turn 1.
Turn 2: Almost immediately after Turn 1, this left-hand
corner requires at least a slight tapping of the brakes to
keep to the pavement.
Turn 3: Almost immediately after Turn 2, this right-hand
corner requires moderate braking to keep to the pavement.
Turn 4: Shortly after Turn 3, this gentle right-hand corner
can be taken at full acceleration, but care must be taken on
the approach to Turn 5.
Turns 5-6: This tricky left-right complex requires heavy
braking on entry; slowing enough on entry allows for powerful
acceleration through Turn 6 and onto the ensuing
straightaway.
Turn 7: This difficult right-hand corner is on an uphill
climb; if there is no traffic in front to provide an idea of
where the circuit is, it is virtually impossible to see the
layout of the pavement due to the angle of the hill. This
opens onto a nice straightaway.
Turn 8: This is another right-hand corner on an uphill climb;
this time, the corner is nearly a hairpin. Strong
acceleration out of Turn 8 is required, as this opens onto
the lengthy Pit Straight.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: LAS VEGAS
This is a tri-oval which is VERY wide: three-abreast racing
is definitely feasible here; four-wide racing MIGHT be
possible (primarily on the straightaways), but should never
be attempted. Due to the nice width of the circuit, passing
is relatively easy - the difficult part could be getting
enough of an aerodynamic tow (slipstreaming or drafting) to
actually make a pass. The gentle, lengthy nature of the
corners means that this is a fast race venue.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: MAGNY-COURS
The Magny-Cours circuit is characterized by long, sweeping
straightaways, and fairly quick corners. The Adelaide hairpin
will almost definitely cause trouble, especially for
aggressive drivers, and is one of the slowest corners in
modern F1 racing. This is a very fun course to drive
(admittedly a very subjective statement), but its layout can
produce problems from the standpoint of hearing other cars:
Three of its main straightaways are almost exactly parallel
to each other with little distance and no large obstacles
between them, sometimes making it difficult to determine
where other cars are truly located around you as you try to
anticipate where the next group of traffic that you will need
to navigate is located; listen attentively to the team radio
for useful traffic information. The circuit also has
extremely wide areas along most of the main course for a car
to pull aside should a major malfunction arise.
Pit Straight: Following the tight High School chicane, strong
acceleration through the Pit Straight creates good passing
chances through Great Curve and into Estoril. However, the
tightness of the High School chicane and the incredibly close
proximity of the Pit Lane barrier requires immense caution
and headache-causing concentration as you come onto the Pit
Straight. The Start/Finish Line is about halfway down the
Pit Straight; the Pit Lane rejoins the course from the left
at this point.
Turn 1 (Great Curve): In accordance with its name, this is a
sweeping left-hand corner which can be taken flat-out unless
encumbered by a lot of traffic.
Turn 2 (Estoril): Either light or moderate braking will be
needed for entering the VERY long right-hand 180-degree
Estoril; in either case, you will almost certainly be tapping
the brakes repeatedly through Estoril. It is quite easy to
roll the right-side tires off onto the grass, and it is just
as easy to slip off onto the grass on the outside of Estoril
- both can easily occur, whether navigating traffic or
driving alone.
Straightaway (Golf): The Golf Straight if by far the longest
of the course and includes several fades to the right.
Turn 3 (Adelaide): The right-hand Adelaide hairpin is
EXTREMELY tight. The key here is to brake EARLY, as you will
be downshifting from your top gear to your lowest gear
rapidly; if you begin braking too late, you will be off in
the grass. If you accelerate too soon out of Adelaide, you
will be rolling through the kitty litter and losing valuable
track position. Even 30MPH is likely to be too fast here.
Straightaway: Acceleration out of Adelaide is important for
passing other cars here. There are a few fades in the course
here.
Turns 4 and 5 (Nurburgring): This is a right-left chicane
which will require light braking. It is possible to fly
through Nurburgring without braking by making use of the
bright-green extension on the inside of Turn 5; however, this
extension is significantly shorter than it was in F1
Championship Season 2000.
Turn 6 (180 Degrees): This is quite true - the official name
of this corner is '180 Degrees' according to the official Web
site of Magny-Cours. This is a wide left-hand hairpin
nestled well within the Estoril hairpin. Running too wide
here will put you out in the sand; running too close to the
apex could put you up on the rumble strips and force you to
lose control. While this corner is not as slow as the
Adelaide hairpin, you really do not want to try pushing very
much faster here.
Straightaway: The third of the three parallel-running
straightaways, this 'straightaway' has several fades before
the Imola chicane.
Turns 7 and 8 (Imola): This right-left chicane should require
light braking, except for cars with a flawless racing line.
The bright-green extension on the inside of Turn 8 is longer
than in F1 Championship Season 2000, which could well be used
for top-speed navigation of the chicane. A short
straightaway out of Imola sets up the Water Castle curve.
Turn 9 (Water Castle): Somewhere between a standard 'J' turn
and a hairpin, this is an increasing-radius right-hand corner
leading into the final straightaway of the circuit.
Turns 10 and 11 (High School): There is a false line of
pavement to the right as you near the official chicane; this
false pavement runs directly up to an immovable barrier (I
believe this is the Pit Entry for other forms of racing at
the circuit). The official chicane requires moderate braking
on entering, and allows for a VERY short burst of
acceleration on exit. If you completely miss this chicane,
you will blast through the sand trap and break the front end
on a perpendicular barrier blocking any direct access to Pit
Lane.
Turn 12 (High School): On entry, the Pit Lane begins to the
left. The official corner is a TIGHT right-hand turn which
requires moderate or even heavy braking; wheel lock is very
much a possibility here, especially in wet conditions. If
you miss the corner, you will blast through the all-too-brief
sand trap and ram directly against a barrier and bounce
backward into any cars behind you. Speed is an extreme
concern here; it is virtually impossible to go too slow, but
going too fast will definitely result in a crash (with great
possibility of bouncing into follow-up crashes with other
cars, or with another nearby barrier).
Pit Entry: The Pit Lane begins to the left at the entry of
Turn 12. The Pit Lane has its own sharp right-hand turn
almost immediately, so it is best to begin slowing (or
rather, barely accelerating) as you leave the High School
chicane.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: MANTORP PARK
Like Eastern Creek, Mantorp Park uses one of its
straightaways as a drag strip. This time, however, the width
from standard road course to drag strip is more impressive,
allowing road course racers MUCH more room for passing along
the drag strip portion of the circuit. This is a high-speed
circuit, although strong braking will be required for many
corners; fortunately, there is plenty of recovery room in
almost all areas of the circuit.
Pit Straight: Unlike Eastern Creek, Mantorp Park's Pit
Straight does not double as a drag strip; instead, the drag
strip is just to the right as cars pass along Pit Straight.
The Pit Straight itself is relatively short, so any passing
here requires INCREDIBLE power out of the final corner and/or
outbraking a competitor into Turn 1.
Turn 1: This is a left-hand corner requiring moderate
braking.
Turn 2: After a too-brief straightaway comes the right-hand
hairpin at Turn 2. Moderate braking will be needed here, and
light braking may be required throughout, especially if a car
is loose.
Turn 3: Shortly after the hairpin is a gentle right-hand bend
which can generally be handled at full acceleration.
Turns 4-5: This is a double-apex right-hand section leading
onto the drag strip portion of the circuit. Moderate braking
is needed for Turn 4, while full acceleration can be used in
Turn 5. However, those who miss the braking zone for Turn 4
can turn in the sand trap and slide sideways onto the staging
area for the drag strip, then power ahead at full
acceleration without having lost too much time.
Straightaway: This is the drag strip portion of the Mantorp
Park road course. This is a rather wide stretch of pavement,
so there should be no problems with passing slower cars here.
Not surprisingly, this is the longest straightaway of the
road course.
Turn 6: At the end of the drag strip, this right-hand
increasing-radius hairpin corner requires moderate or heavy
braking on approach, and judicious throttle management
throughout to keep from sliding the car off the pavement.
Turn 7: Light braking may be required for this left-hand
bend.
Turns 8-9: This is a double-apex right-hand increasing-radius
section leading back toward Pit Straight. Moderate or heavy
braking is required for Turn 8, while gentle throttle
management can alleviate the need for braking in Turn 9 IF
the car has slowed enough for Turn 8. Pit Entry is on the
left side of the pavement at the entry of Turn 9.
Turn 10: This is a left-hand right-angle corner requiring
moderate braking. This leads onto Pit Straight.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: MEXICO
This circuit reopened for use in a CART race in November
2002, many months after its originally-scheduled grand
opening. Pit Straight is immensely lengthy, but the rest of
the circuit consists of mainly high-speed twists and turns.
Drivers who prefer slightly-loose cars AND are excellent at
countersteering and/or drift-style racing should perform well
at Mexico.
Turns 1-3: The end of Pit Straight is a moderate braking zone
for the right-left-right chicane that begins the difficult
twisty portion of the circuit. If not encumbered by traffic,
shortcutting across the chicane (or at least making ample use
of the rumble strips) will save a lot of time and allow the
driver to maintain momentum for the following straightaway.
Turns 4 and 5: This is a left-right complex which can be
rather tricky. Moderate braking is needed on entering Turn
4, but the car must be slowed even more in order to safely
handle Turn 5 without getting caught in the kitty litter to
the outside of the corner.
Turns 6-13: This is the S-curve section. Interestingly, the
corners begin with a right-hand tight corner, then the
corners gradually decrease in radius and 'tightness' while
the slight distances between the corners keeps growing
gradually. After the final corner of this section (the
fourth left-hand corner), the S-curve section empties onto
another long straightaway which runs through a popular Mexico
City baseball stadium.
Turn 14: Essentially the Curva Parabolica of Mexico, this
right-hand wide hairpin corner can be taken at full
acceleration with slight or no braking required. On corner
entry, however, there is a rather significant bump - if a car
is not tuned correctly, this bump can cause a problem for
drivers. Pit Entry is on the right immediately before
entering Turn 14.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: MONZA
This historic high-speed track hosts a highly partial pro-
Ferrari crowd - affectionately known as the 'tifosi.' The
2000 Italian Grand Prix is the race in which a volunteer
corner worker was killed at the Roggia Chicane, due to all
the flying debris from the first-lap multi-car collision
caused by Heinz-Herald Frentzen missing his braking zone.
Pit Straight: Strong acceleration out of the Curva Parabolica
can create prime passing opportunities along the Pit
Straight, the longest straightaway at Monza. The Pit Lane
begins on the right shortly after exiting the Parabolica.
Turns 1-3 (Rettifilio): The new chicane here is a tight
right-left with a gentle right turn back into line with the
original pavement. The chicane is blocked by a barrier, but
the inside of Turn 1 has a paved 'extension' which may be of
benefit. Even with Flags on, shortcutting the chicane TO THE
RIGHT OF THE BARRIER can be done at top speed, thus lowering
lap times; shortcutting to the left of the barrier results in
a Stop-Go Penalty.
Turn 4 (Biassono): This sweeping right-hand corner among the
thick trees can be taken flat-out. To the left is a long,
wide area of sand, but the corner is so extremely gentle that
the sand should not be needed for any reason unless you blow
an engine or severely puncture a tire.
Turns 5 and 6 (Roggia): Despite the flatness of the Monza
circuit, this chicane is extremely difficult to see on
approach unless traffic is present to mark the pavement for
you, so it is very easy to overrun the chicane. This is a
very tight left-right chicane, so moderate or heavy braking
is required; shortcutting through here at full throttle is
possible by making use of the new, narrow, bright-green
extensions on the inside of each corner, as the CPU us rather
tolerant of shortcutting here (compared to previous
incarnations of the game). There is a large sand trap for
those who miss the chicane altogether.
Turn 7 (First Lesmo): This right-hand corner requires
moderate braking. There is a wide sand trap on the outside
of the corner, just in case. Beware the barrier on the
inside of the corner. About 150MPH is the maximum speed
here, or you risk slipping off the course and into the kitty
litter. If you shortcut the first two chicanes of the game,
this will be the first time you absolutely need to use the
brakes.
Turn 8 (Second Lesmo): This right-hand corner is a little
tighter than First Lesmo, and also has a significant area of
kitty litter on the outside of the corner. Moderate braking
will be needed here. Again, beware the barrier on the inside
of the corner. Generally, about 140MPH is the maximum speed
here to keep from sliding off the pavement.
Straightaway/Turn 9 (Serraglio): This is really just a fade
to the left, but the official course map lists this as a
curve. Counting this as a fade, this marks about the halfway
point on the longest straightaway of the Monza circuit.
There is sufficient room to pull off the course here on
either side if necessary, except when passing underneath the
first bridge. The circuit is extremely bumpy between the two
bridges.
Turns 10-12 (Ascari): The Ascari chicane is more difficult
than it seems. Turn 10 is a left-hand corner requiring at
least light braking. This is followed immediately by a
right-hand corner requiring moderate braking. Turn 12 can be
taken at full acceleration if you slowed enough in Turn 11.
Wide areas of grass and sand are available for those
overruninng any part of the chicane. Still, unless
encumbered by traffic, experts may be able to take Ascari at
full throttle with a flawless racing line which makes use of
the rumble strips as well as the bright-green 'extension' on
the inside of Turn 10. Unfortunately, F1 2001 does not
provide the real course's paved swing-out area at the exit of
Ascari.
Straightaway (Rettilineo Parabolica): This is the second-
longest straightaway at Monza and a prime passing zone,
especially with powerful acceleration out of Ascari.
Turn 13 (Curva Parabolica): This final corner is a very-wide
increasing-radius right-hand hairpin. Light or moderate
braking is required on entry, but after about one-third of
the way around the hairpin, stand on the accelerator all the
way through to Rettifilio. The outside of the Curva
Parabolica has an immense expanse of kitty litter, but this
really should not be necessary unless you suddenly need to
take evasive action to avoid someone else's accident. After
the Lesmo corners, the Curva Parabolica is the third and
final place where braking is a definite MUST.
Pit Entry: Shortly after exiting the Curva Parabolica, the
Pit Lane begins on the right. This is perhaps the shortest
Pit Lane in all of F1; there is virtually NO room for
deceleration once leaving the main course, so cars going in
for servicing will begin slowing at the exit of the Curva
Parabolica.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: NORISRING
Due to the track layout and the surrounding scenery,
Norisring primarily has the feel of an inner-city street
circuit. The circuit itself is rather small and thus
extremely easy to learn, yet it is VERY difficult to master.
Pit Straight: The single longest straightaway at Norisring,
Pit Straight is also the widest straightaway, allowing plenty
of room for passing slower traffic. Pit Entry is on the
right side about 1/4 of the way along Pit Straight; the lane
for Pit Entry actually begins at the exit of the final
corner.
Turn 1: Things start with a BANG at this left-hand SHARP
hairpin corner. What makes this corner so nasty is that
there is virtually NO recovery room for those who miss the
braking zone or do not brake hard enough - there is
definitely a reason why SEVERE braking is required for this
initial hairpin corner.
Turns 2-3: Essentially an overglorified chicane, this is a
right-left complex which leads the raceway around and behind
the main grandstands. Both corners here are perpendicular
corners, but the sand on the inside of Turn 2 makes car
control virtually impossible if touched. The exit of Turn 3
has a brick extension alongside a brick wall; this extension
is more than wide enough to provide an extra lane for passing
slower traffic and/or for making a wide sweeping run out of
Turn 3.
Turns 4-5: Turn 4 is a right-hand kink just before the left-
hand hairpin at Turn 5. It is important to begin braking
before Turn 4, then slam HARD on the brakes for Turn 5.
Fortunately, the exit of the hairpin is onto an unbelievably-
wide straightaway (the same width as Pit Straight), so the
braking required here is not quite as severe as for the
initial hairpin corner at Turn 1.
Turn 6: Very quickly after the second hairpin is the left-
hand full-throttle kink onto Pit Straight. Those vehicles
going to Pit Lane will keep hard to the right here coming off
the second hairpin and through Turn 6.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: NURBURGRING
From a driving standpoint, the hilly Nurburgring circuit is
very much characterized by its tight corners, some of which
are semi-blind turns. Tire wear is a definite issue in long
races here, especially in wet conditions. Even more
important, however, is braking early for almost every corner;
perhaps only the narrow streets of Monaco require more
braking than does the Nurburgring circuit.
Pit Straight: This straightaway is fairly long, but the
Start/Finish Line is near the exit of the final corner. The
Pit Lane rejoins the course near the end of the Pit Straight,
just before the Castrol S.
Turns 1 and 2 (Castrol S): Moderate braking is required
before entering this right-left 'S' curve. It is quite easy
to miss seeing the entry to the Castrol S unless traffic is
present to mark the corner for you. Until you know the
course really well, expect to find yourself driving straight
ahead into the recovery area. Turn 2 is actually somewhat of
a double-apex left-hand corner, so do not go too wide
initially on exit. Also, be careful not to drive too wide
exiting the Castrol S. Caution must be taken here on the
first lap of a race, as the traffic truly bunches up here.
Turn 3: Light braking or a quick lift of the accelerator will
be necessary for this left-hand corner. However, hard
braking will be required for the Ford Curve ahead. Beginning
at the top of Turn 3, the course moves downhill.
Turn 4 (Ford Curve): This is a hard right-hand corner,
practically a 'J' curve. The course continues its downhill
slope here, which significantly adds to the difficulty of the
turn, especially in wet condditions. Braking too late here
means a trip through the kitty litter, while riding up on the
inside rumble strips usually means losing control of the car.
This is definitely NOT a place to pass unless absolutely
necessary.
Straightaway: The course fades to the left here. If you can
accelerate well out of the Ford Curve, you should be able to
pass several cars here as you continue downhill.
Turn 5 (Dunlop Curve): Severe braking for this hairpin is a
must, unless you really want to drive through the sand.
Again, rolling up on the rumble strips on the inside of the
curve may cause you to lose control of the car; however, I
have several times induced slight wheelspin of the right-side
tires on the rumble strip, which helped to swing the car
around the corner just a little faster. The course continues
gently uphill here toward the Audi S.
Turns 6 and 7 (Audi S): Entering the left-right Audi S, the
uphill slope of the course increases, making it very
difficult to see the course more than a few feet ahead. The
exit of Turn 6 is the crest of this hill. Unless traffic
blocks your racing line, the entire Audi S section can be
taken at top speed if you have a good racing line, so good
acceleration out of the Dunlop Curve will be very beneficial
for passing entering Turn 6 and/or exiting Turn 7.
Turn 8 (RTL Curve): With the rise in the course entering the
left-hand RTL Curve, this appears to be identical to Turn 6
on approach. However, you MUST use moderate braking entering
the RTL Curve, or you will definitely be off in the grass on
the outside of the curve. After a short straightaway, this
corner is followed by the gentler BIT Curve.
Turn 9 (BIT Curve): This right-hand curve will require light
or moderate braking, depending on how much acceleration was
used in the brief straightaway following the RTL Curve.
Turn 10 (Bilstein-Bogen): This is a gentle right-hand semi-
corner which can be taken at full throttle. From here to the
Veedal S, the course makes its final and steepest upward
slope.
Turns 11 and 12 (Veedal S): This is an extremely tight left-
right made even worse for the drivers by its placement at the
very crest of the hill. For those who overshoot the chicane,
there is a newly-added barrier to collect you and your car.
Turn 13 (Coca-Cola Curve): A 'J' turn to the right, moderate
braking is required here to keep from sliding off the course.
The entry of the Coca-Cola Curve is also where the Pit Lane
begins, so cars may be slowing on approach to go to Pit Lane
for servicing. This is the final corner of the circuit.
Pit Entry: The Pit Lane begins at the entry of the final
corner. It is extremely important to slow down before
entering Pit Lane; if you come in too fast, you will
certainly damage the front of the car on the barrier. Keep
tight to the right for Pit Entry, to allow those continuing
the race to have the prime racing line to the left of the
pavement.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: ORAN PARK
Like Suzuka in Japan, Oran Park includes a bridge where the
raceway crosses over itself. However, Oran Park is generally
a slower-speed circuit than Suzuka, primarily due to the lack
of long straightaways and the many moderate- and severe-
braking corners. Fortunately, the circuit is almost entirely
flat; even the ascent to and the descent from the bridge is
so gradual that elevation is really not an issue when working
on car set-ups for Oran Park.
Pit Straight: Pit Entry is about 1/3 of the way along Pit
Straight, although the entry lane for Pit Entry begins at the
exit of the final corner (on the right); this 'extra lane' is
also quite useful as a swing-out area for the final corner,
if necessary, but a barrier directly against the pavement
here still requires some amount of moderate braking for the
final corner.
Turn 1: This is a gentle left-hand kink which itself can be
taken at full acceleration. However, it is best to begin
braking well before Turn 1, since the nasty Turn 2 follows
IMMEDIATELY.
Turn 2: This tight left-hand corner requires moderate or even
severe braking. This 135-degree corner leads underneath the
bridge, and because there is precious little recovery room,
missing the braking zone for Turn 2 will obliterate a vehicle
almost instantly.
Turn 3: Shortly after passing underneath the bridge is the
right-hand Turn 3, a nasty and tight 135-degree corner. With
the lack of a recovery area, moderate or severe braking is a
MUST for Turn 3.
Turn 4: A paved chicane area which is not used for the Grand
Prix configuration appears on the right; immediately
following this is Turn 4 itself. This is yet another nasty
and tight 135-degree corner leading onto the bridge. There
is a moderate recovery area to the outside of Turn 4, but
moderate or heavy braking is still required to keep off the
grass.
Turn 5: INSTANTLY beyond the bridge is a junction; the Grand
Prix circuit heads to the right here with yet another nasty
right-hand corner requiring moderate or severe braking. It
is best to begin braking just as the car comes onto the
bridge itself.
Turns 6-7: Shortly beyond Turn 5, this is an overglorified
right-left chicane. Light or moderate braking will be needed
here to keep to the pavement.
Turn 8: Beyond the overglorified chicane, this is a left-hand
corner which needs light or possibly moderate braking.
Turns 9-10: Again, this is an overglorified right-left
chicane. Expert drivers can squeak through here with no
braking whatsoever, but most drivers will likely need light
braking to keep to the pavement here. There is also a slight
crest on entry here, and a dip exiting Turn 10, and these
features can certainly play havoc with a car's handling
(especially with lightweight cars).
Turn 11: This final corner is on a slight incline as it leads
onto Pit Straight. Moderate braking is needed for this left-
hand 135-degree corner.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: OSCHERSLEBEN
This is a primarily flat circuit, so ride height need not be
a problem. However, there are several slow hairpin corners
plus plenty of other corners which require moderate braking.
The recovery areas around the circuit are not very
significant, so it really is best to keep to the pavement at
all times.
Pit Straight: This is the longest straightaway at
Oschersleben.
Turn 1: At the end of Pit Straight, this is a semi-gentle
left-hand corner. This corner itself does not require
braking, but Turn 2 (which follows immediately after the exit
of Turn 1) DOES require braking, so it is perhaps best to
begin braking just at the entry of Turn 1 at the latest (of
course, braking works best in a straight line).
Turn 2: This right-hand 270-degree corner requires moderate
or even severe braking to keep from sliding off the pavement.
Once in the corner itself, careful throttle management is
required to keep from overspinning the drive wheels and
sending the car sliding off the raceway.
Turn 3: After a short straightaway, this is a left-hand
hairpin corner requiring moderate braking. The entire turn
is banked slightly, but it is definitely not enough to help
to 'catch' a car which is carrying too much speed into and
through Turn 3.
Turns 4-6: This is a triple-apex left-hand complex with
requires increasing braking with each corner.
Turn 7: IMMEDIATELY following Turn 6, this right-hand hairpin
requires moderate braking (if the vehicle is not already
slowed enough after the triple-apex section) and feather-
light acceleration to remain on the pavement.
Turns 8-10: This right-left-right chicane requires increasing
braking with each corner. It is possible to completely
bypass Turn 9, but this requires running through the kitty
litter. Careful acceleration is needed from the apex to the
exit of Turn 10.
Turns 11-12: At the end of the second-longest straightaway at
Oschersleben is an overglorified right-left chicane. It is
important to use light or even moderate braking for Turn 11
to avoid the sand trap. By making judicious use of the
rumble strips, drivers can save a few milliseconds of time -
and may also even be able to make a pass.
Turn 13: This is a 30-degree right-hand corner which requires
light braking.
Turn 14: After a VERY brief straightaway, this final turn is
a right-hand 150-degree turn leading back onto Pit Straight.
Pit Entry is to the left just before corner entry.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: OULTON PARK
Overtaking is often difficult at this tight venue. This
circuit is also somewhat rough on brakes in long races, in
part due to the traffic jams (especially at the first corner
at the beginning of a race). The two lengthy straightaways
(one with a tight chicane) can be a great place to pass if
gearing and downforce are set correctly.
Pit Straight: The Pit Straight here is rather long compared
to most, so powerful acceleration is absolutely necessary.
Turn 1 (Old Hall Corner): This right-hand corner begins a
slow downhill run along The Avenue and Dentons. Slight or
moderate braking is required for the corner, put strong
acceleration is needed on corner exit.
Turn 2 (Cascades): This tricky left-hand corner requires
moderate braking as the pavement leaves the Fosters circuit
using this left-hand J-turn. This opens out onto the longest
straightaway of the circuit, so hard acceleration is needed
here to gain race positions before the next corner.
Straightaway (Lakeside): Named for the lake to the left of
the pavement, strong acceleration is needed here.
Turn 3 (Island Bend): This left-hand corner (more of a fade
than a corner) can itself be taken flat-out, but moderate
braking is really required due to the hairpin which follows
almost immediately.
Turn 4 (Shells Oils Corner): This right-hand hairpin is
rather slow, making this a prime place for passing on braking
on corner entry, and for passing on horsepower on corner
exit.
Turns 5-7 (Foulstons): This tight left-right-left chicane
truly disrupts any sense of speed, but can be good for
passing on braking FOR EXPERTS ONLY due to the signs blocking
a clear run past the chicane.
Straightaway (Hilltop): This long straightaway is a wonderful
place for high-horsepower cars to pass slower traffic,
especially if there are multiple cars all trying to draft off
each other.
Turn 8 (Knickelbrook): This right-hand corner can be taken at
full throttle unless blocked by traffic. A pristine racing
line is needed (perhaps with the assistance of the rumble
strips) to keep on the pavement. There is a paved chicane on
the inside of Knickelbrook, but it is not used for TOCA
racing.
Straightaway (Clay Hill): This long straightaway has a left-
hand bend.
Turn 9 (Druids Corner): This right-hand corner will require
light braking to keep to the pavement as the car muscles its
way along a slow uphill climb.
Turn 10 (Lodge Corner): This right-hand J-turn requires
moderate braking on entrance to keep out of the sand and
grass. Once safely though Lodge Corner, it is imperative to
power hard along Pit Straight to make a few passes.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: PHILLIP ISLAND
The Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit is host of both V8
Supercars and some of the high-profile international
motorcycle series. The circuit combines high speeds with
VERY slow hairpin corners, making car set-up a bit more of a
compromise than usual in auto racing.
Pit Straight: The final corner is gentle enough that braking
should not be necessary, so Pit Straight is FAST.
Turn 1: This gentle right-hand corner may not require any
braking at all; however, depending on car set-up, moderate
braking may be required. In any event, there is plenty of
sand to catch those who miss the braking zone.
Turn 2: This is a long left-hand hairpin corner requiring
moderate braking. The speeds here are definitely slow, but
not quite as slow as for the other hairpin corners of the
circuit.
Turn 3: This is a gentle left-hand corner which should
require light braking at most. However, toward the end of
the corner, it is imperative to begin braking for Turn 4.
Turn 4: The first of the REALLY slow hairpin corners, this
right-hand corner requires moderate or even severe braking,
depending on if/when braking began in Turn 3 itself.
Turn 5: This is a barely-noticeable kink to the right, but
this is listed as an official corner on the circuit map.
Turn 6: This is another REALLY slow hairpin corner, this time
to the left. Moderate or severe braking will be required for
Turn 6 as well.
Turn 7: This is a barely-noticeable kink to the left, but
this is listed as an official corner on the circuit map.
Turn 8: Turn 8 is a high-speed sweep to the right, requiring
only a light tapping of the brakes if necessary.
Turn 9: Light or moderate braking is needed to keep to the
pavement in this sweeping left-hand corner.
Turn 10: This is the final hairpin corner of the circuit, and
it is also very SLOW, requiring moderate or (most likely)
severe braking on approach.
Turn 11: Coming out of Turn 10, this left-hand corner may
require light braking, but throttle management is the true
key to remaining on the pavement in Turn 11.
Turn 12: This final corner is a long sweeping left-hand arc
back onto Pit Straight; Pit Entry is to the left just before
corner entry.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: ROCKINGHAM OVAL
'Oval' is really a misnomer in the case of Rockingham Oval.
This circuit is essentially shaped like a square with an
adjacent triangle attached to its side. If a car is tuned
properly, NO braking will be required unless the driver
cannot get low enough in a corner and drifts toward the wall.
All corners are also banked, although Turn 3 is banked less
than the other corners. It may actually be beneficial to
simply SLIDE through the corners, depending on car set-up and
driver experience.
Turns 1 and 2: These are left-hand perpendicular corners,
although the corners themselves are long and semi-gentle.
Pit Exit is from the left beyond the exit of Turn 2.
Turn 3: This is a 45-degree corner.
Turn 4: This is a 135-degree corner which is long and semi-
gentle. Pit Entry is to the left just before corner entry.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: ROCKINGHAM ROAD
This is a 'stadium circuit' (similar to the Indianapolis
Grand Prix circuit used in F1 racing) nestled within the
Rockingham Oval circuit. Turn 4 of the Rockingham Oval venue
is used, as is the Pit Lane and Pit Exit lane; otherwise, the
Rockingham Road circuit makes use of the vast infield area.
Turns 1-3: Just beyond the Start/Finish Line, the Rockingham
Road raceway has a left-right chicane off the oval portion
and onto the oval's Pit Exit lane; a barrier prevents drivers
from simply powering ahead along the oval. Once on the
oval's Pit Exit lane, the pavement makes a gentle curve to
the left while merging once again with the oval portion of
the venue. (Note that the chicane itself can be
straightlined, but moderate braking will still definitely be
required.)
Turns 4 and 5: This is a harsh double-apex left-hand hairpin
off the oval and onto the infield portion of the circuit.
This hairpin corner will require moderate or severe braking.
Turns 6 and 7: After a short straightaway, this is a pair of
right-hand perpendicular corners. Moderate braking will
again be needed here for each of these corners .
Turns 8 and 9: This is a left-right chicane which requires
light or moderate braking, depending on car set-up and
traffic conditions.
Turns 10 and 11: Again, this is a set of left-hand
perpendicular corners. Moderate braking is required for
both, but this section can be treated as a single left-hand
hairpin turn.
Turn 12: This left-hand 135-degree corner requires moderate
braking to keep on the pavement.
Turn 13: Here is a TRUE hairpin corner to the right,
requiring moderate or severe braking. This is perhaps the
best place to pass via outbraking an opponent.
Turns 14 and 15: This is a pair of left-hand corners. The
first of these corners will require moderate braking, but the
second corner can be handled nicely at full acceleration.
Turn 16: This is also a true hairpin corner, this time to the
left and leading back toward the oval portion of the circuit.
Moderate or severe braking will be required here; the
handbrake can be used here effectively if carrying too much
speed into Turn 16.
Turn 17 (Oval Turn 4): This is the final corner of the oval
portion of the circuit. Note that for the Rockingham Road
circuit, however, Pit Entry is on the left at the APEX of
this corner.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: SANDOWN
This circuit appears easy on the circuit map, but is a very
different beast on the pavement; numerous test drives and
practice sessions are definitely required to truly come to
grips with Sandown.
Turn 1: The initial corner is a left-hand near-perpendicular
corner requiring moderate or severe braking after the lengthy
Pit Straight. There is fortunately A LOT of recovery room
for those who miss the braking zone.
Turns 2 and 3: This is a right-left chicane which should
really require light braking. However, it is quite feasible
to straightline this chicane; those with extensive rally
racing experience will already be quite adept at this tactic.
Turn 4: IMMEDIATELY following Turn 3, this is a NASTY left-
hand acute-angle corner which requires moderate or severe
braking. Most importantly, the 'recovery area' here is
extremely tiny, so missing the braking zone for Turn 4 will
definitely result in severe car damage against the barrier on
the outside of the corner.
Straightaway: This is the longest straightaway of the
circuit, with a slight fade to the right just shortly beyond
Turn 4. The straightaway also crests at its end.
Turns 5-8: This is a left-right-left-left complex which
requires harder and harder braking with each corner. The
entire complex makes a left-hand 120-degree bend overall, but
it is comprised of some rather fast-approaching corners with
little recovery room.
Turns 9 and 10: This is a right-left chicane requiring
moderate braking on approach, but powerful acceleration
through Turn 10 and all the way to the end of Pit Straight.
Turn 11: With Pit Entry to the right at corner apex, this is
a gentle left-hand bend onto Pit Straight which can be taken
at full acceleration.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: SEARS POINT
Sears Point Raceway is one of only two road courses used in
NASCAR racing. This circuit is also notable in NASCAR due to
the need for two Pit Lanes - one on each side of the raceway
near the Start/Finish Line. Road course and street course
specialists will certainly love Sears Point, even if using a
standard NASCAR-spec vehicle :-)
Pit Straight: There really is NO 'Pit Straight' per se, since
the main Pit Lane curves around the outside of final corner
(a hairpin turn) while the secondary Pit Lane begins to the
inside of this hairpin turn. There is a semi-significant
bend to the left about halfway between the final corner and
Turn 1.
Turn 1: This is a fast left-hand bend taken at full
acceleration and beginning an uphill climb.
Turn 2: Shortly after the first corner, this is another left-
hand bend which can generally be handled at full
acceleration. However, due to Turn 3 which closely follows,
it is best to begin braking for the next corner at the apex
of Turn 2.
Turn 3: This is a right-hand blind corner due to the
hillside. Those who miss the braking zone and/or forget to
turn (the actual corner itself is VERY difficult to spot on
approach) may be able to benefit from the wide paved recovery
area. Since the recovery area is paved, it is relatively
easy to maintain a moderate level of speed and rejoin the
race. However, because the recovery area is paved, it is
also quite easy to keep on sliding across the pavement and
slam into the barrier.
Turns 4 and 5: This is a left-right section which dips at the
entry of Turn 4, crests, then begins a gentle downhill run
toward Turn 6. The elevation changes in this section can
cause handling problems, especially for lightweight cars.
Turn 6: This is a right-hand right-angle corner around a tire
barrier (placed specifically to prevent shortcutting the
corner). Those with good drift-racing skills can implement
those abilities here (and at Turn 7 as well) to pass one or
two cars through the corner (but beware the barrier at the
apex). Like Turn 3, Turn 6 has a wide paved recovery area
for those who overshoot the braking zone; this recovery area
is the largest at Sears Point, so a GREAT amount of effort is
required to slide all the way across it and slam into the
distant barrier to damage the vehicle.
Turn 7: This is a right-hand 135-degree corner around a tire
barrier (placed specifically to prevent shortcutting the
corner). Those with good drift-racing skills can implement
those abilities here (as at Turn 6) to pass one or two cars
through the corner (but beware the barrier at the apex).
Turn 8: Immediately at the exit of Turn 7, this is a quick
left-hand bend which can be taken at full acceleration.
Turns 9-14 (S-curves): The raceway keeps switching from left
to right, all the way back to Pit Entry for the primary Pit
Lane. The overall trend of the raceway here is a gentle
downhill slope, although some corners will require light
braking to remain on the pavement.
Turn 15: This is a tight right-hand hairpin corner with some
paved swing-out room (but not very much). Pit Entry for the
primary Pit Lane is to the left well before this hairpin
corner, while Pit Entry for the secondary Pit Lane is to the
right on corner exit.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: SILVERSTONE
The Silverstone International circuit shares much of the same
pavement as the Grand Prix circuit used for the annual F1
Grand Prix of Great Britain; in fact, the pavement for the
two circuits even cross at approximately two-thirds of the
way around the International circuit. Once the International
circuit leaves the Grand Prix circuit, however, the ensuing
S-curves are incredibly tight and tricky, although
straightlining by making use of the rumble strips will often
help to save time.
Pit Straight: The Start/Finish Line is directly at the
beginning of the Pit Straight. There is no room for error on
the right side of the track, as the Pit Lane barrier is
directly against the pavement.
Turn 1 (Copse): This is a moderate right-hand corner which
can be taken at full speed with a pristine racing line, but
be careful to not run off the course at the exit of the turn.
The best racing line is to tightly hug the apex, but the Pit
Lane barrier is right there against the pavement, so it is
imperative to keep the right side of the vehicle from rubbing
the barrier. Copse exits onto a long straightaway.
Straightaway: The Pit Lane rejoins the main course from the
right about 1/3 of the way along the straight.
Turns 2-3 (Maggots): This is a left-right S-curve. Turn 2 can
be taken at full speed or with very quick tapping of the
brakes, but Turn 3 requires moderate braking to keep to the
pavement.
Turn 4: This tight right-hand J-curve can easily surprise
newcomers to this version of Silverstone; fortunately, there
is plenty of sand to the outside of the corner to catch the
unwary. With the heavy braking required to safely clear this
corner, this is a prime place to pass on braking.
Turn 5-7 (Ireland): This tight set of S-curves can be taken
at full throttle with no traffic by straightlining the
corners using the rumble strips. Otherwise, expect to be
frustrated by slow traffic in this tight left-right-left
complex. There is a fade to the left on exiting Ireland.
Turn 8: There is a fade to the left immediately before
entering this tight right-hand hairpin, which makes the
hairpin itself much more difficult. Fortunately, pavement
from the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit crosses the
International circuit here, so those who go wide on the
hairpin can generally make use of the Grand Prix pavement to
recover and get back onto the International pavement.
Straightaway (Farm Straight): From the right side, the Grand
Prix pavement rejoins the International pavement. Both
circuits follow the same pavement for the remainder of the
lap. With good acceleration out of the hairpin, good passing
opportunities can be made here.
Turns 9-13: This final segment of the circuit is very similar
to The Stadium at Hockenheim. However, these similar
segments cannot be approached in the same manner.
Turn 9 (Bridge): Immediately after passing underneath the
pedestrian bridge, you will enter a complex similar to The
Stadium at Hokkenheim. This is a right-hand corner which
can likely be taken at full speed.
Turn 10 (Priory): This left-hand corner will require
moderate braking.
Turn 11 (Brooklands): Another left-hand corner, this one
requires heavy braking. There is a small sand trap for
those who miss the braking zone.
Turn 12 (Luffield): This set of right-hand corners
essentially forms a 'U' shape, and requires moderate or
severe braking to avoid sliding off into the kitty litter.
The entry to Pit Lane is on the right shortly leaving
Luffield.
Turn 13 (Woodcote): Barely a corner but more than a fade,
the course eases to the right here. The right-side
barrier begins abruptly here (be careful not to hit it).
Pit Entry: The Pit Lane begins to the right between Luffield
and Woodcote. The new Pit Lane has a gentle right-hand
swing, so you can come into Pit Lane at top speed and have
plenty of room to slow.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: T1 CIRCUIT AIDA
Aida is a fun and fairly quick circuit. There are many high-
speed areas, tempered with a few J-turns to slow the cars.
Fortunately, there are NO CHICANES at Aida, which is
absolutely great for aggressive drivers.
Turn 1: After a moderate-length Pit Straight, Turn 1 is a
right-hand J-turn requiring moderate braking and gentle
throttle control throughout. While passing on the outside
line is indeed possible here, it is not suggested.
Turn 2: Shortly after Turn 1, this is a gentle left-hand
corner which can generally be taken at full acceleration with
a pristine racing line making use of the rumble strips
(especially on corner exit)... unless encumbered by traffic.
Straightaway: This 'straightaway' has three fades - left-
right-left - which can essentially be straightlined; those
with experience in rally racing will already have this
essential time-shaving skill in their arsenal of racing
tactics.
Turn 3: Immediately after the final fade of the preceding
'straightaway,' the circuit makes a right-hand bend here as
the venue makes a slow rise. This corner requires moderate
braking. Note that the crest comes after corner exit, so
while speed out of the corner is important, it is quite
possible that there will be an incident jut over the rise -
therefore, drivers must be prepared to quickly take evasive
action coming over the crest.
Turn 4: After a second mini-crest comes the right-hand Turn
4. Moderate braking is required here as is a tight racing
line along the apex for this J-turn.
Turns 5 and 6: Almost immediately after Turn 4 comes a pair
of left-hand corners. These are fairly gentle corners
requiring only light braking, but the straightaway connecting
Turn 5 and Turn 6 is simply too long to permit treating this
section like one elongated hairpin corner. Slow cars tend to
REALLY slow for the Turns 4-5-6 complex, so powering out of
the corners and braking heavily and late entering the corners
will help with passing in this section.
Turns 7 and 8: This section begins just beyond the pedestrian
bridge over the raceway. This is a set of left-right J-
turns, each requiring moderate braking. Again, slow cars
tend to be REALLY slow here, so powering out of the corners
and braking heavily and late entering the corners will help
with passing in this section.
Turns 9 and 10: This is a pair of VERY gentle right-hand
corners requiring NO braking whatsoever, so long as the
driver can keep a good racing line. These corners
essentially form one wide sweeping elongated hairpin turn to
the right.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: VALLELUNGA
This Italian venue is primarily a high-speed circuit with
semi-gentle curves that require only very light braking, if
any braking is required at all. However, on the back side of
the circuit, there is a set of hairpin corners which requires
moderate or hard braking, thus slowing things down
considerably. So long as drivers master this 'additional'
section along the back side of the circuit, there should be
no problems attaining success at Vallelunga :-)
Turn 1: At the end of Pit Straight, this is a gentle left-
hand bend. There is pavement which continues straight ahead,
but this is not used. Little braking is needed here, if any.
Turn 2: Shortly after Turn 1, the raceway makes a gentle
right-hand bend. Little braking is needed here, if any.
Turn 3: If any, little braking is needed for this long,
gentle, sweeping right-hand bend.
Turn 4: This is a rather wide hairpin corner to the right,
requiring moderate braking on approach and careful throttle
management throughout.
Turns 5 and 6: This right-left section should not require any
braking whatsoever, except perhaps by the most powerful of
cars.
Turn 7: This begins the tricky section of the circuit. This
is a right-hand hairpin corner requiring moderate braking.
Note that there is virtually NO recovery room should a driver
miss the braking zone for Turn 7.
Turn 8: After a brief straightaway, this is an even tighter
hairpin corner, this time to the left. Severe braking will
be needed here, especially since there is NO recovery area to
the outside of the corner until corner exit - and this is
primarily a steep hillside which risks to cause a vehicle to
flip onto its side or roof.
Turns 9 and 10: This left-right section requires light
braking for most cars, or moderate braking by high-power
vehicles.
Turn 11: This final corner is a right-hand hairpin requiring
light braking. Drivers must avoid shortcutting the corner
even by a few centimeters, as a barrier protrudes all the way
up to the pavement itself at the apex of this hairpin turn.
Note that Pit Entry is to the left (the inside of the corner)
just beyond the apex but before corner exit.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: VANCOUVER
Perhaps most popular for the annual CART race (one of three
in Canada - the others being in Toronto and Montreal), this
is a TIGHT street circuit. This means that there are AT MOST
two lanes of racing (and passing in most areas is very dicey
at best), and that there is NOWHERE to go in case of a
mistake or an accident. Due to the barriers, ALL corners are
semi-blind.
Turn 1: This is a wide right-hand hairpin corner, with Pit
Exit at the apex. This is actually one of the two best
passing zones at Vancouver, but passing here means keeping a
VERY tight line on corner entry and hoping that the brakes do
not lock up and cause the vehicle to slide across the
pavement and into the outside barrier.
Turn 2: Immediately after Turn 1, this is a left-hand right-
angle corner.
Turn 3: After a VERY short straightaway, this is a right-hand
right-angle corner onto the long back straightaway.
Straightaway: This is the longest straightaway at Vancouver.
Passing here is possible, but definitely still tricky due to
the narrow nature of the circuit. The 'straightaway' has a
semi-significant bend to the right about 1/3 of the way along
its length, but this can be handled at full acceleration
(even with side-by-side racing).
Turn 4: This is the other prime passing area, a right-hand
right-angle corner. There is some extra room on the inside
of the corner, so crossing over the rumble strips can be
quite useful for passing.
Turn 5: This is a right-hand hairpin corner, requiring
moderate braking. If there is no traffic here, some good
speeds can be carried through Turn 5.
Turns 6-9: This is a left-left-right-left complex which is
rather tricky, especially since the raceway narrows between
Turns 6 and 7. Harder and harder braking will be required
while passing through this section.
Turns 10-12: This final section is the trickiest, both to see
and to drive. There is an overhead highway on the left side
of the raceway approaching Turn 10; at the TINY break in the
wall, the raceway makes a hard left-right-left onto Pit
Straight. GOING STRAIGHT AHEAD LEADS TO PIT LANE!!!!!
Moderate or even severe braking is required to definitely be
able to keep to the pavement without banging any of the
barriers here at the tiny opening.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: ZANDVOORT
This is one of the trickiest race circuits on the planet.
While not as technical as Monaco, the difficulty level is
still definitely rather high. There are really only two
high-speed sections along the entire circuit; the rest of the
circuit is filled with twists and turns combined with changes
in elevation; for much of the circuit, there is NO room for
error, as - similar to a street circuit - the barriers come
almost directly up against the raceway itself.
Pit Straight: This is one of only two sustained high-speed
sections at Zandvoort. Pit Entry is on the right about 1/3
of the way along Pit Straight; the Pit Entry lane begins just
after the exit of Turn 14.
Turn 1: This right-hand hairpin requires moderate or even
severe braking to keep out of the vast area of kitty litter
on the outside of the corner. Careful throttle management
will also be needed throughout the corner once past the apex.
Turn 2: After a quick fade to the left, Turn 2 is a right-
hand corner requiring moderate braking. This enters the main
area where there are barriers almost directly against the
pavement on both sides, so making any mistakes in this
section of the circuit can be extremely costly, creating A
LOT of work for the pit crew (and thus longer pit stops).
Turn 3: IMMEDIATELY after Turn 2, this left-hand hairpin
corner requires even more braking. From the apex of Turn 3,
the circuit begins a noticeable uphill trajectory, which can
make corner exit slightly difficult.
Turns 4-6: The raceway crests at the apex of Turn 4, a gentle
right-hand bend, then dips at the apex of Turn 5, a gentle
left-hand bend; the raceway then crests again at the apex of
Turn 6, another gentle right-hand bend. This is the second
high-speed section at Vandvoort. At one point, the right-
side barrier does give way, but generally, the barriers are
almost directly up against the raceway on both sides.
Turn 7: Moderate or severe braking will be needed for this
long right-hand corner. There is a steeply-banked elongated
sand trap on the outside of the corner to help slow runaway
vehicles, but it is still possible to slam into the barrier
on the other side of the kitty litter; also, should a car
slide sideways into the sand, the sudden deceleration rate
and the angle of the slope here risks to cause the car to
roll onto its side and/or roof.
Turns 8 and 9: The circuit map shows these as two distinct
right-hand corners, but it is best to approach these as one
270-degree decreasing-radius corner. Moderate braking is
needed entering Turn 8, but the braking pressure must be
slowly increased to safely make it to the exit of Turn 9.
There is a large sand trap to the outside of this section,
but by the exit of Turn 9, the raceway is again bounded VERY
closely by barriers.
Turn 10: Moderate braking is required for this left-hand
hairpin corner. There is not much recovery room to the
outside of Turn 10, then the barriers again closely protect
the raceway.
Turns 11 and 12: This is the absolute worst section of the
circuit. This is a NASTY right-left chicane: a right-hand
perpendicular corner instantly followed by a left-hand
hairpin turn around a large sand trap bisected by a barrier.
There is NO shortcutting possible here, and those carrying
too much speed into this chicane will DEFINITELY destroy the
front of the vehicle on the barrier.
Turns 13 and 14: These final two corners again appear as
distinct turns on the race map, but should also be treated as
one massive hairpin corner. Turn 13 may require light
braking by high-power vehicles, but ALL cars should be able
to power through Turn 14 at full throttle. This leads onto
Pit Straight.
==============================================
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: ZOLDER
This circuit can be fun but tricky, especially in wet racing
conditions. It is generally a high-speed circuit, but the
chicanes and few tight corners will certainly test a driver's
guts.
Turn 1: This left-hand corner will require light braking to
remain on the raceway. The outside of the corner begins with
a good recovery area, but by corner exit, the outside barrier
is almost directly against the pavement. Pit Exit is at
corner exit on the right.
Turn 2: Turn 2 is a right-hand hairpin corner with a
decreasing radius. There is some good sand-filled recovery
space on the outside of the corner. Light braking will be
required initially, but the braking pressure must be slowly
increased in order to remain on the circuit itself.
Turn 3: Light braking will be needed with most vehicles to
keep them on the pavement for this right-hand corner. There
is little room for error on either side of the pavement
through Turn 3.
Turns 4-6: On approach, the back side of the paddock area is
to the right of the raceway. Then the circuit makes a left-
right-left chicane which requires moderate braking. Turning
too soon will be costly, however, as the left-hand barrier
does not give way until after the apex of Turn 4. The inside
of Turn 5 is filled with sand, so straightlining this chicane
may not be very beneficial. Fortunately, the swing rate of
the corners is not very great, so turning left just a little
bit can allow drivers to make ample use of the inside rumble
strip for Turn 5, and then straightline Turn 6; however, if
encumbered by traffic, this tactic will likely result in a
collision with one or more competitors.
Turn 7: This left-hand bend can be taken at full
acceleration. However, at corner exit, it is best to begin
braking for the next corner.
Turns 8-10: This is a rough right-left-right chicane with a
much wider swing rate than the former chicane, so
straightlining this chicane will never be a viable option.
Due to the much greater angle of each corner, moderate or
even severe braking will be required to slow enough for
safely negotiate Turn 8 and properly set up the approach for
Turn 9. Most cars should be able to handle full acceleration
from the apex of Turn 9 through Turn 10.
Turn 11: Except for the most powerful of vehicles, this
right-hand corner can be taken at full acceleration. There
is a nice recovery area to the outside of the corner,
however, for those who may need to make use of its services.
Turn 12: This left-hand bend can be handled at full
acceleration without problems.
Turns 13-15: Severe braking is required for Turn 13, a right-
hand J-turn. Exiting Turn 13 leads into a gentle left-right
chicane which can be handled at full acceleration.
Turns 16 and 17: After passing underneath an advertisement
comes a 'junction.' Pit Entry is directly ahead, whereas the
main circuit makes a left-right chicane. Moderate braking
will be needed to slow enough to handle the chicane without
getting bogged down in the sand trap. Like the initial
chicane of the circuit, the left-side barrier protrudes all
the way to the apex of Turn 16, so it is not possible to turn
early to have a better racing line. Because of the
'junction' setting here, those going to Pit Lane should
remain hard to the right side of the circuit (perhaps even
with the right-side tires just slightly OFF the pavement) to
allow the best-possible racing line for those remaining on
the circuit itself.
Virtual Bus Stop Chicane:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Car #1 ->->->->->-> Car #3
Player Path: ->->->->->->-> Car #2 ->->->->->->->
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
ONLINE RESOURCES
These sites are listed in the order of: game-related sites
first, followed by the official Web sites for the circuits
used in Pro Race Driver.
http://www.proracedriver.com/
The official Web site for Pro Race Driver, covering the
PlayStation2, PC, and X-Box versions of the game in both
English and Spanish.
http://www.codemasters.com/
The Web site for the developers of Pro Race Driver.
http://www.codemasters.com/registration/
Players can register their copies of Pro Race Driver
online here and receive the two codes mentioned in the
Bonus Codes section.
http://www.octagonmotorsports.com/
Octagon Motorsports is the owner of many of the circuits
used in the TOCA (British touring cars) series, including
Silverstone, Brands Hatch, and Oulton Park.
http://www.circuit-dijon-prenois.com/
The official Web site for Circuit Dijon Prenois. However,
this site is only available in French.
http://www.fujispeedway.co.jp/index.html
This is the official Web site for Fuji Speedway. There is
some English-language information (as well as Chinese-
language information), but the core information on this
site is only available in Japanese.
http://www.bathurst24hr.com/
Unable to find a Web site specifically for the Bathurst
circuit, this is the Web site for the new Bathurst 24
Hours, held for the first time in 2002.
http://www.mantorppark.com/
This is the official Web site for Mantorp Park. However,
the site is currently only available in Swedish; an
English-language version of the site is in the works
(according to an announcement - in English - posted
on the site).
http://www.autohausamnorisring.de/
The official Web site for Norisring. This site is only
available in German.
http://www.oranpark.com/
The official Oran Park Web site.
http://www.motopark.de/
This is the official Web site for Oschersleben. This site
is only available in German.
http://www.phillipislandcircuit.com.au/
The official Web site of the Phillip Island Grand Prix
Circuit.
http://www.sandownraceway.com.au/
This is the official Web site for Sandown International
Motor Raceway. However, the site is extremely slow and
virtually unresponsive at the time of the initial writing
of this game guide.
http://www.bristolmotorspeedway.com/
The official Web site for Bristol Motor Speedway.
http://www.a1ring.at/
The A1-Ring official Web site.
http://www.clipsal500.com.au/
The official Web site for Clipsal 500 Adelaide (the V8
Supercars annual event).
http://www.telmexgigantegranpremiomexico.com/
The official Web site for the annual CART race at Mexico.
http://www.monzanet.it/
This is the official Web site for Monza.
http://www.circuit-zandvoort.nl/
The official Web site of Circuit Zandvoort in Holland.
This site is only available in Dutch.
http://www.circuit-zolder.be/
Circuit Zolder's official Web site.
http://www.donington-park.co.uk/
The official Web site of Donington Park.
http://www.eastern-creek-raceway.com/
The official Eastern Creek Web site.
http://www.hockenheimring.de/
The official Web site for Hockenheim (the new shortened
version).
http://www.magnycours.com/
The official Web site for Nevers Magny-Cours.
http://www.nuerburgring.de/
Nurburgring's official Web site.
http://www.oranpark.com/
The official Web site for Oran Park.
http://www.charlottemotorspeedway.com/
The official Web site for Charlotte Motor Speedway.
http://www.lvms.com/
Las Vegas Motor Speedway's official Web site.
http://www.knockhill.co.uk/
This is the official Web site for Knockhill; however, as
of the initial writing of this guide, this link loads only
a single blank page.
http://www.rockingham.co.uk/
The official Web site of Rockingham Motor Speedway.
http://infineonraceway.com/
This is the official Web site of Sears Point Raceway, now
officially known as Infineon Raceway.
http://www.ti-circuit.co.jp/
This is the official Web site of T1 Circuit AIDA, but the
site is only available in Japanese.
http://www.vallelunga.it/
This is the official Web site of the Vallelunga circuit,
but the site redirects to a blank page.
==============================================
COMPLETELY SUBJECTIVE SECTION
Favorite Circuits
Adelaide
Bathurst
Dijon Prenois
Donington Park
Fuji
Hockenheim Short
Mexico
Monza
Oschersleben
Oulton Park
Rockingham Road
Sears Point
Vallelunga
Zandvoort
Zolder
Least-favorite Circuits
A1 Ring
Bristol
Charlotte
Hockenheim Long
Las Vegas
Norisring
Rockingham Oval
==============================================
THANKS
Thanks to ikancu from the Pro Race Driver message board on
GameFAQs (http://www.GameFAQs.com/) for his clarification on
the accumulation of championship points in Career Mode for
the purposes of unlocking new racing tiers.
CONTACT INFORMATION
For questions, rants, raves, comments of appreciation, etc.,
or to be added to my e-mail list for updates to this driving
guide, please contact me at: FEATHER7@IX.NETCOM.COM; also, if
you have enjoyed this guide and feel that it has been helpful
to you, I would certainly appreciate a small donation via
PayPal (http://www.paypal.com/) using the above e-mail
address.
To find the latest version of this and all my other
PSX/PS2/DC/Mac game guides, visit FeatherGuides at
http://feathersites.angelcities.com/
