David Coulthard quoted on Planet F1: "I went to Watkins Glen earlier this year; I had heard of Watkins Glen but had never been there, so I drove the track and I thought it was the scariest place I had ever driven, but that's what makes you feel alive in a race car, isn't it? You need corners where drivers feel that they're really pushing the limits," he added.
I'm looking forward to my track day next week there!
I didn't think the Glen was that bad. I wonder how he would feel about the Corkscrew...
Had the pleasure of racing a go kart there in the late 1970's. Will you run the boot? I loved the elevation changes in that section. Lots of cool history echoing thru those hills.
In reply to TRoglodyte:
Yes, we'll run the long track including the boot. This is my second time, I did a weekend there earlier this year in my beater 944 turbo and had a blast. This time should be much more fun in my M3, which is in far better condition and has lots more power, tire and brakes.
My wife and I just drove on the track about a month ago, while driving through on our way to Quebec for our honeymoon. Not at very high speed or anything, and only 3 laps, but it was goddamned fun!
Well, it "used" to be pretty wicked. Turn one used to be a short bit of grass, some tires and an embankment that would launch you into space. Now you can go so far off that it isn't even a concern anylonger. The outside of the bus stop was grass right up until impact with the armco and the fence. The curb on the way in was high enough to be called a ramp. The combination of those two ruined a lot of weekends over the years. The little extra bit of road at the exit to the toe was dirt right where you began to realize you were screwed. The outside of 10 was grass into concrete barriers at pit in (on the outside of a 110mph apex corner!). The entrance to the the front straight led to just armco, fence and the occasional concrete post. Often people would bounce off the outside, spin across the road and impale the car on the pit entrance wall blocking the track for the cars inthe middle of a 100mph corner. Oh the hilarity!
Indy car came and made it reasonable - but it is still no place that suffers fools.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but they added the inner loop/bus stop section after JD McDuffie was killed in turn 5 in 91. The track must have been even scarier with the old layout.
Twin_Cam wrote:My wife and I just drove on the track about a month ago, while driving through on our way to Quebec for our honeymoon. Not at very high speed or anything, and only 3 laps, but it was goddamned fun!
I have considered doing that, but I really just want chance to go full speed there.
And I only live 45 minutes away.
neon4891 wrote:Twin_Cam wrote:My wife and I just drove on the track about a month ago, while driving through on our way to Quebec for our honeymoon. Not at very high speed or anything, and only 3 laps, but it was goddamned fun!
I have considered doing that, but I really just want chance to go full speed there.
And I only live 45 minutes away.
BMWCCA still has lots of open spots for next Wed/Thurs...
Will wrote:Correct me if I'm wrong, but they added the inner loop/bus stop section after JD McDuffie was killed in turn 5 in 91. The track must have been even scarier with the old layout.
You are correct. The speeds going into 5 were very high. Back before that, when I ran in a drivers school, they had put a little chicane just before entering the turn. You had to slow way down, it was tight. Right, left,right. I think it is still there.
check out the Denny Hamlin crash from Monday's NASCAR race there- he lost his brakes coming down the front stretch and went head on itno the wall in turn one hard enough to move the concrete base of the fence posts and put the front of his car about a foot ahead of the firewall.. it was pretty similar to Jimmy Johnson's crash in the same spot back in 2000 or so, except Jimmy's car skipped across the gravel pit that was there to slow cars down like it wasn't even there.
also check out the last lap crash of David Ragan and David Reutiman. some of the barriers just seem to be pefectly placed for maximum carnage...
In reply to novaderrik:
I kept hearing the announcers say Hamlin lost his brakes, but the front brakes are clearly locked while the rear tires are spinning. The throttle got stuck.
he said the throttle wasn't stuck, and that the front wheel locked up because something broke when he hit the brake pedal and jammed up the wheel.
Will wrote:Correct me if I'm wrong, but they added the inner loop/bus stop section after JD McDuffie was killed in turn 5 in 91. The track must have been even scarier with the old layout.
Without the bus stop - the outer loop was a top-speed-in-any-car corner that killed more than one driver. Tommy Kendall got badly hurt in a prototype too, just before McDuffie was killed. The bus stop was added in '92.
I didn't drive there until '99. It was scarier than now but I can't imagine it pre-92 without the chicane giving me an excuse to brake before what would be a 150 mph, downhill right-hander otherwise. Madness.
They once played with the idea of a chicane on the uphill run out of turn one. Guess it didn't scrub off enough speed though.
TRoglodyte wrote:They once played with the idea of a chicane on the uphill run out of turn one. Guess it didn't scrub off enough speed though.
IIRC, there was a chicane built into the run-up from T1 to the Esses; it didn't work.
This was in the era of catch-fencing (for F1); those fences were an abomination.
Will wrote:In reply to novaderrik:
I kept hearing the announcers say Hamlin lost his brakes, but the front brakes are clearly locked while the rear tires are spinning. The throttle got stuck.
Get off the brakes and turn fool! There is a parking lot of run off out there....
I like the bus-stop and the boot. With an under-powered ankle-biter like my car, these are the places I can annoy the fast cars.
My view of the bus-stop and boot. (slide to about 2:40).
In reply to aeronca65t:
That is AWESOME!!
Did a lunch time drive with BMWCCA about 10 years ago there in a Sebring convertible. Was total fun. Was going to go back with my GTi, but a divorce later in the year curtailed and track events for the rest of that year. I WILL go back.
Had the opportunity to drive the old Grand Prix circuit a couple weeks ago on the streets of WG. As tough as the track is that must have been down right scary to drive at speed.
obviously Coulthard has never been to Mosport then!
I remember in the late 50's early 60's , the right hand turn after 5 was more open and taken at higher speed. The cars would spin off into a field,turn around and drive back on track. Since then a turn has been added.
