| The
starting line and grid are located in front of the
medical centre and from here the cars power their way
down past the garages in top gear at 180 mph. Changing
down and braking hard, the Castrol Kurve is a sharp
right-hand turn that is taken in 2nd gear at 70 mph.
Once through the turn the cars come out on to the
fastest part of the circuit and a near straight that
is over half a mile in length. At a top speed of 180
mph, the stands of the Naturtribune West flash past on
the left as the track curves slightly out to the left.
At the end of the
straight the Remus Kurve looms - very tight, it takes
the cars through 150 degrees. It is the hardest
braking point in the circuit with drivers pulling -3.6
g as they decelerate hard to 40 mph at the apex of the
corner. Out of here is another long straight, only
slightly shorter than the one leading into the Remus
Kurve and just as as fast as it passes in front of the
Naturtribune Nord stands. The end of this straight
marks the entry to the most curvaceous part of the
circuit which swings inside and out.
The Gosset Kurve is a
double right-hand turn, the 50 mph 2nd-gear entry
being slower than the shallower exit which can be
negotiated in 4th gear at 110 mph. The Niki Lauda
Kurve is an open sweeping turn around to the left,
taken at 90 mph in 3rd gear, and leading into another
similar turn called the Power Horse Kurve which is
marginally faster at 100 mph.
Out on to a shorter
straight, the cars run parallel to the Start-Finish
line at 175 mph as they approach the Jochen Rindt
Kurve. This is an open right-hand turn that is taken
in 4th gear at 105 mph and leads into a short straight
from where cars can re-enter the pit lane. The A1
Kurve slows the cars down through 3rd gear at 85 mph
as they turn right before accelerating out along the
straight across the Start-Finish line.
|
