road atlanta track guide

I'll put one up in another reply this morning from my computer.

 

I have MUCH more detailed information that I provide clients, but here's a simple guide.

A “Hot Lap” of Road Atlanta-

To access the false grid, or staging area for your run group, proceed down to the pit lane through the gate nearest the tower side of the Hospitality Chalets. Turn left on the near side of the pit lane guard rail and proceed to the end of the false grid. When signaled, accelerate onto the pit exit road being careful to stay fully left until you complete the uphill right hander Turn One.

T1: Draw a bead on the left side of the billboard and drive straight for the narrow strip of grass separating the pit out lane from the racetrack. Place the left front tire as close as possible to the left edge of the track two thirds of the way down the grassy strip and turn- in gently while applying power progressively. Place the right front wheel on the curbing four to six panels from the end of the inside curbing tracking out not quite all the way to the left side curbing. Discipline yourself to carry one arc which will bring you back over to the right as you go up the hill. This allows a short straight to be developed which dampens the complicated transition to the left into the braking area for Turn Three.

T2: Making certain that no traffic is coming up behind you, move to the right third of the track going up the hill, bending left and beginning your turn in to the left as you make the right side of the car parallel and over the end of the ALMS pit exit “blend line.”

T3: Aligning the left hand side of the car parallel with the curbing on the left side of the road, brake and downshift (if necessary) making the decisive turn-in at the end of the curbing on the left to move right through Turn Three. Place the right side wheels close to or ON the curbing on the inside of the corner, making certain that the left side of the car is almost parallel to the curbing as you track out (move across the width of the road) to the left as you exit Turn Three.

T4: Placing the left front wheel against the base of the curbing through Turn Four, hold the car on the inside of the left hander going downhill, short shifting up a gear if necessary as long as you can. Going straight for a moment, gently transition the car to the right as the pavement widens on the left at the short curbing so as to draw a straight line between the curbing on the right going downhill and the curbing on the left at the bottom of the hill driving straight through “The Esses”. Follow the left hand curbing around to the left slightly before bending the car to the right for the entrance to the uphill Turn Five.

T5: As in Turn Three, bring the right side of the car parallel to the curbing on the right side of the track, brushing the brakes before squeezing back on the power and decisively turning in to the left near the end of the curbing on the right. Place the inside left front wheel on the middle of the curbing and accelerate gently up the hill tracking out to the right against or over the curbing on the right. Proceed to the left fairly quickly so overtaking traffic may pass on the right.

T6: Entering Turn Six, make the left side of the car parallel with the left side of the track all the way to the left, turning in just before the last cross hatch (white line.) Making
certain to be back on mild, “station keeping” power before turn-in, place the right front wheel against the curb midway to two thirds of the way around the corner, tracking out to the left and sidling up against the curb.

T7: Brake heavily for Turn Seven, slower than you think in order to avoid corner entry understeer as the road drops away. Turn-in is when the left front wheel is at the end of the curbing on the left. Place the right front wheel on beginning of the last third of the curbing and apply power progressively as you unwind the steering wheel. Don’t be greedy! Track out to the left and sidle up to the curb on the left, settling in for the back straight. Check your mirrors, point overtaking cars by and stay on the left as you crest the hill at Turn Eight (we are not using the chicane.)

T10A-T10B: You should gently move to the right by the time you pass Black Flag/ Checkered Flag Station Nine to bring the right side of your car parallel with the right side of the track in anticipation of heavy braking for the Turn Ten A, Turn Ten B complex. Remember that you are headed downhill at high speed and brake earlier and easier than later and harder. Turn left decisively with the idea of not going right of center in the short straight which connects Turn Ten A with the right hand Turn Ten B. Pause, then turn right decisively and proceed up the hill to the bridge, placing the left side loaded wheels on the patch as your right side wheels touch the curbing at the apex.

T11: Proceed under the bridge centering your car just right of the yellow caution lights and track out to the left quarter of the road, short shifting up if necessary. As you come under the bridge, look for and drive for the right side of the Road Atlanta administration office building.

T12: The turn-in for the bottom of the hill right hand Turn Twelve is on a ray that will allow you to apex at the end of the second protrusion of curbing and track out at the end of the curbing on the left, directly under the Start/ Finish stand. Staying on the left, proceed down the pit straight towards Turn One, checking your mirrors and allowing faster cars to pass.
Have fun and be safe!

© 2008 Krause & Associates LLC

 

Have fun but be safe. I've been remote coaching a guy down there this past weekend who is at the Skip Barber Advanced MX-5 School. He's getting a lot of good advice from instructors Casey Carden and Jason Workman, but he had a lot of very detailed information and questions he wanted answered.

I'll tell you what I told him. Panoz, when he was vying for CART and F1 back in the late '90's right after he bought the track and reconfigured "the Dip," decided that in order to keep the cars out of the spectator areas, to build concrete walls 8-12 feet high, often less than 50 feet off the track surface 75-80 percent of the way around a lap.

If you don't want to hit it, look where you want to go, not where you don't!

I like Road Atlanta, one of the first tracks I ever raced on. Worked with Doc Bundy and Beaux Barfield when they led the Road Atlanta School two decades ago.

But the only place I've ever had big accidents has been there.

Big. Accident(s).

Start gently and add speed slowly...

 

It's a bucket-list track and once you have a better idea of which way it goes, it'll be fine.

The Dip (or "Gravity Cavity") at Road Atlanta is no more. You can see the track the way it used to be here: http://youtu.be/PhD-K5WV-98 The Dip is between 1:55-2:05 on the video. Look, Ma! No walls!

Panoz filled it in (raised the track level) to create the tunnel under the track before T10A-T10B. This also created the very slow left-right chicane (T10A-T10B) to prevent people from going too quick under the Bridge.

The back straight was a SERIOUS rush before, the only thing preventing you from going flat under the Bridge (although I've seen Greg Ray, Brian Redman and Bertil Roos do it) was fear of flying (literally) off the road!

It's a lot safer now... <grin>

 

Peter , this is EXCELLENT ! Any chance you have a book filled with these for all the tracks you have done?

 

+1, that would be great!

 

I cut and pasted just the short version for spiderman from one of the private, pre-event study sites that I prepare for each track and send to folks before we work together. He asked and I felt like he could definitely use it!

Watkins Glen, Lime Rock Park, NJMP Lightning, NJMP Thunderbolt, Summit Point, VIR (Full, South, North), CMP, Roebling Road, Daytona International Speedway (Rolex 24 course), Sebring (12-Hour course), PBIR, Road Atlanta, Barber Motorsports Park, Mid-Ohio, Road America, Le Circuit Mont Tremblant, Mosport, Sears Point and Laguna Seca are the tracks I have detailed information for.

I've been working with a company in the UK making an iOS/Android App that includes this North American specific information plus maps, diagrams and drawings. I need to see if this pans out first before I put them out on my own. Rob Lay gets them for free, though! <grin>

One of the places that some of this information will appear in the next month will be WebLaps.com

Jim Daniels, of Spec Miata fame, founded the site and now Dempsey Racing and Freedom Autosport Grand Am driver Tom Long and I are bringing it back to life. Please send me a PM if you'd like to get on the mailing list for that site.

 

Thanks, Peter!

I also plan to get to RA sometime in 2012. I have been warned about the concrete and that it is a "7/10ths" track instead of a "9/10ths" track.

I'm glad our home track of VIR has (mostly) large run-off areas.

 

This is a great guide to the track and it's one of the most fun out there. Lots of elevation changes that keep you on your toes. The most difficult section for me was coming through T3-5 where you go up over a hill and can come in way too fast. Over compensating can cause a spin (uh, how might I know that?) or, if too little, run you off the track. be a little cautious going up that hill until you are comfortable with the line. Other than that, just a blast!

 

I've done a lot of laps on Road Atlanta, and it is a track that needs to be treated with respect. I have a lot more laps on the old circuit than the new one, but even with the modifications its a dangerous track.

When there was no chicane the bridge abutmant was where you aimed for to to a hot lap... and that was serious scary!

 

Accelerate until your left shoulder is even with the end of the concrete wall on the left at the end of the pit lane. Brake quickly and up to the t/i point midway down the grass strip between pit out and the track proper.

 

When the Panoz school was still around, I used to do every one of their "track days" in my NSX. That track is very addicting.

I remember one of the instructors had a gigantic mid 60's Caddy convertible with cow print seats. Seeing that thing come flying out from under the bridge and into turn 12 was hilarious.

6,7 trough 10a/b were the easiest for me - 3-5 the most difficult. And 12 I never had the balls to go flat through even though the NSX could easily do it. Waaay to much concrete close by...

 

That was a fun crowd!

 

Do you remember the guy I'm talking about? What was his name?

Big (build) slightly brown blonde haired guy - was probably 25-28 - looked like the poster boy for "California Male". This would have been around 1997-98 or so.

 

Agree this is awesome. Do you have a similar guide for VIR? I am heading there in April for Skip Barber race.

 

PM me, I can send a PDF.