What are your favorite tracks?

Watkins Glen
Mosport

 

Le Mans
Spa
Monza
Mugello

 

Spa - It needs no explaining
Suzuka - Almost as good. Shame it's not in Europe . Every corner is fantastic IMO
Mugello - great flow, epic setting
Monza - to do it fast, it takes serious, serious, balls

--- not sure where the following 2 fit in for me.


Somewhat tempted to put Zandvoort in the list, but not sure if it's nostalgia (my home track having next door to it for a good part of my life)...it has some great corners (Tarzan, Scheivak is just epic)...but the track is narrow so very hard to overtake

Nurburgring. Just so damn hard to overtake as it's just too narrow. My hat goes off to the people that do the 24h there. Watching the helo shots from last years's 24h race, the finals laps when there was a pack of 4 chasing each other at incredible speeds...Wow.

 

Have only done a relative handful of tracks myself, but of those, Sebring is by far my favorite, with Laguna Seca a close second.

That said, I haven't driven Laguna in a few years, and in that time have racked up tons of laps at Sebring, so hypothetically, if given equal time... Who knows. The order might change.

I am driving Road Atlanta for the first time next week, and based on the "Poor Man's Simulator" i.e. X-Box, I have a pretty fair track map in my head, and am really looking forward to learning the track. I will report back.

 

VIR
Watkins Glen

Need to pack up and hit Laguna Seca and Road America.

 

Watkins Glen
VIR
But I can't say I've been on any track that I didn't enjoy. Yes I know I have a problem...

 

Nurburgring
VIR
Watkins Glen
Road Atlanta
Lime Rock
Mosport
Summit Point
Pocono
Monticello
Beaver Run

Tracks I have driven in order or preference

 

I'll take a different tack here. Love most of the tracks mentioned, or at least parts of them and that's the problem for me. There are parts of them I don't much care for. The one track I really did enjoy thoroughly was the very technical track at the Thermal Club. It doesn't allow for much top speed, but man it is a challenge. The Streets of Willow has much the same appeal. While that track is larger, or potentially so, this is the portion I am describing, running counter clockwise.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

hello
everyone
my favorite track is uphill.
I like to track on that.

 

I've only driven a couple in stock, to mildly prepped street cars:
- Lime Rock ('89 Taurus SHO, brisk lunchtime touring laps)
- Road America ('85 308 GTS during Ferrari club meet)
- Louden, NH (Tour Del Sol electric car competition in an all electric Ford Fiesta in '95)
- Lord March's driveway (sedate pace in a rental Ford Focus before the FOS)
- Nurburgring (~250 Nordschleife laps, ~25 full course including GP in various cars, quickish "Tourist driving")

Shouldn't be too hard to figure out which my favorite is

 

Sonoma Raceway (Sears Point) is 30 minutes from my house. Laguna Seca is in Monterey/Carmel. Thunderhill is in the middle of nowhere and a long drive, but I have the most laps there any enjoy it the most.

 

Similar for me and I agree with Dave.

I also enjoyed Miller Park in Utah, The Ridge in Shelton, WA and Buttonwillow in Bakersfield.

I have in excess of 200 laps on each of those tracks because of my Lemons racing.

Fun, fun.

Kai

 

Europe: Nuerburgring Nordschleife, Spa, Dijon, Mas du clos, Ledenon. Stunning, all 5 of them, for different reasons.

 

Chuckwalla Valley Raceway. One simple reason. Nothing to hit.

 

+1
thats the biggest thing for me. cant understand why tracks purpose built for track days still have walls and small run off areas. monticello in ny comes to immediately to my mind

 

Road America if I have to pick one.
Totally different but I'm fond of Barber as well.
The Toronto street course is HUGE fun, which was a surprise to me.

 

what cars?

My ideal street/track car is an Elise with a Honda VTech.
Dream race car? McLaren Can Am or Gurney Eagle, of course.

 

I've raced quote a few different cars at Barber and Road America. More variety at Road America. At Toronto I raced a Pro Mazda in a warm up race for the CART race several years ago. 2007 if I recall correctly.

 

Sweet. I knew a guy that raced a blue and silver pro mazda at Road America, last I saw his car it had a bashed up front end... Justin Gaver from Milwaukee.

Great fun!

 

I haven't driven many, but the ones I have in order of preference:

1) Barber - Can't add much to what others have said, just a fun little roller coaster of a track. Also a fantastic place for spectating, it's the Augusta National of racetracks. Some great naturally elevated spectating areas where you can see multiple track sections from beneath some nice shade trees.

2) Nordschleife - Did this when in college in a POS rental Alfa 164, only did 6 laps. Had a great time, but would probably like it more now that I have a much better idea how to drive on a track and could afford a better car/more laps!

3) Road Atlanta - only some brisk parade laps, so this may be subject to change given some actual real seat time. Seems like it has a great flow and Turn 11-12 made my butt pucker just doing parade laps. Love the elevation changes. Very pretty area.

4) NOLA - Surprisingly technical for a track that is flat as a pancake. Some sections where it really makes you think 2-3 corners ahead in order to get your line right. Bumpy in a few places that adds to the excitement. Almost nothing to hit if you do go off except in one or two corners. Pretty terrible for spectating, you can't see much at all from the pit area, no elevated spectator berms. The kart track is very nice and great fun.

 

At any point thus far have you started to feel like you've got the circuit memorized? If so, at what point did you start to get it? It's one thing when one has a blind corner committed to memory, but quite another when it's truly BLIND!

 

its not as hard to memorize it as would think. i spent few months on video game then did 2 days with instructor on the ring. i felt i knew what corners were coming up, where to brake, turn in, etc at end of second day

 

I think they all had damage over a season. Even for me (I was an old slow guy in that series) the racing could be very close. They were terrific cars and its a terrific series.

 

I'd say it was 15-20 laps before I had all of the blind and/or deceptive corners memorized, but probably another 10-20 before having the confidence to act on the knowledge of which could be taken flat (e.g. Fuchsrohre, Kesselchen), good with a short lift (Flugplatz, from Karrusell to Hohe Acht), dab o the brakes then back on the throttle (Schwedenkreuz, Mutkurv - in slower cars), good stab (Bergwerk, Bruennchen, Pflanzgarten) or stand on the brakes (Breidscheid, Adenau Forst, Wehrseifen).

My first laps were in '98, and all I studied beforehand were course notes from an early BMW website. Even though I was driving a tame rental 520i as you know speeds can easily build and there ain't much runoff... I had one pucker moment forgetting how tight Eiskurve was and putting 2 wheels off.

I've never driven a truly fast car there but did have passenger laps in many. Whole different ball game approaching Schwedenkruez at ~215kph vs 250kph for example...

But I never got bored of driving 100-200hp sporty street cars on the Nordschleife. Still scary quick many times in one lap, more forgiving of small errors (though it can take a while to get back up to speed....), and eminently satisfying to get a curve right, clipping the apex, full on the power with all 4 tires squealing. Man, I can't wait to go back!!

Yeah racing open wheel cars is definitely high risk!
Found this pic of Justin and his team online. Really gorgeous machine, wish I could have had a go with it. On an empty track that is!
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Mosport!!!!! love it!!!!