| From the
Start-Finish line it’s full power to Turn 1 with
speeds approaching 175 mph. Turn 1 is a long,
right-hand downhill bend taking the drivers through
180 degrees, entered in 3rd gear at 75 mph, exited in
4th at 135 mph. The camber on this corner can also
catch drivers out or, at the very least, see them
slipping out of the drive line and into the dirty
sections of the track, which does not benefit their
tyres or subsequent grip. Entry and exit positions are
also important as the corner is blind. A short
straight brings the cars into Turn 2 and then Turn 3
and here there is a choice of two lines, but whether
the car turns in early or late makes little difference
to the amount of oversteer experienced as this long
left-hander begins to sweep right. Turn 2 is entered
at 135 mph, slowing to 70 mph before accelerating out
of Turn 3 at 115 mph.
Cars approach Turn 4
leaving the straight at around 170 mph, changing down
from top to 4th gear while braking to 110 mph before
climbing uphill on the approach to Turn 5 – another
long right-hander negotiated in 3rd gear at 80 mph and
accelerated out of in 4th gear to 150 mph.
Turn 6 leads to the
highest part of the circuit and is a right-left
chicane that is entered in 2nd gear at 55 mph and
exited in 5th at 115 mph. Turn 7 comes quickly and the
approach to this left-hander is bumpy. Third gear
maintained throughout, 75 mph being the slowest point
at the apex of the curve. Turn 8 is a right-hander and
is taken in 3rd gear at 85 mph with the left-hander
taken flat out. A curving straight forms Turn 9 and
leads into Turn 10 which is not as fast as it looks as
the corner suddenly tightens. It is taken in 4th at
110 mph.
Turn 11 is an
off-camber and downhill right-left chicane which
always seems to gather particles of grit, whilst a
high kerb awaits the unsuspecting at the second apex.
It is taken in 3rd gear at 90 mph. Turn 12 is almost a
hairpin-like corner directly behind the pits and
it’s taken in 2nd at 60 mph. A long right-hander
marks Turn 13, which mirrors Turn 1. Through it, the
cars first oversteer, turning to understeer by the
time they exit on to the straight via the kerb. Around
80 mph sees the cars through the apex of the curve
from which they power towards 175 mph as they flash
across the Start-Finish line.
|
