Best N.Z Racetrack

[racer40]

Levels & Taupo are cool tracks, lots of corners, Puke to dangerous, but i like the fast turn 1. All tracks have there fors & againsts

[malcy25]

Oh. Sorry. You're an "I got my knee down!" racer who can't get slow corners right at a decent pace... OK. p/t

Fast tracks are for 'throttle twisters' not riders. Riders can do technical tracks - and who said technical is only slow?

I'd rate the new section of Taupo as the best I've ridden. But then I've only done Puke (even the old hairpin!), Taupo (old, new and complete), Manfield (long and short) and Ruapuna (B track).

Oh dear.....lots to learn still I see

Sorry, I must have missed the sign which says this forum is only for slow riders who only like slow corners and can't get their knee down!

A little tip - throttle twist racing is a thing called drag racing, but lets not confuse things right now as we have lots to learn still.

I did have a long diatribe formed, but then I remembered an old line - Never argue with an idiot, they drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

Now onto Jrandoms....

I'd respectfully submit that that'd be because the solid second or so he just put into you doesn't equate to much actual track distance. You won't notice it with the Mk I eyeball until the speeds get back up.

Feels like more in a sweeper because it puts the faster guy further away, but the actual gap created might be the same or smaller.

Okay I 'm make this simple. and we'll start with some assumed numbers. They might not be truly accurate but will give the correct correlation anyway:
Slow corner average rider 50km/h (say Puke hairpin)
Fast Corner average rider 180km/h (say turn 1)
Time in each corner
Slow corner 2 sec
Fast corner 5 sec
Fast rider has a 10% speed advantage.

Any guesses on the metres gained by the fast rider?

Jrandom has said nothing...

Slow corner: Speed differential is approx 1.38metres a sec over 2 seconds = 2.7m gained
Fast Corner speed differential is approx 5.5metres a sec over 5 seconds = 27m gained...

So as we can see trying to go fast in slow corners is just a lot of effort with a high risk. Going fast in fast corners is where you REALLY make time. It's the going fast in fast corners is where the skill is because the corner entry sopeed and limits are so high.

Evening gents!

[scrivy]

um,... er,.... well... What he said ++

[slowpoke]

um,... er,.... well... What he said ++

Haha, yessirree, I'm likin' the look of this new "kid".......

[Sketchy_Racer]

Wow a lot of professional and complete amature opinions in here.

I believe that ANY corner no matter fast or slow to ride that corner at it's optimum requires skill. Just different skills are required for different corners and speeds.

I believe that the faster a corner is, the easier it is to get to the ultimate level of traction a bike has to offer, and that is why lines and planning exits etc and looking at the bigger picture become more important in corners like that. On slower ones, when you reach the maximum traction avaliable, it tends to snap a lot quicker and violently.

I notice that a lot of the superbike riders and 600 riders complain about slow corners and getting drive down. After witnessing first hand on the track the level of throttle control some* of the riders have, it's asstounding how many DONT fall off. Don't get me wrong, they have extremly large amounts of talent to be racing at those sorts of paces, but in the slower corners it would seem the riders would benifit greatly with the use of a little more finesse with thier throttle hand.

I'm also of the opinion that quite a few riders don't like tracks like taupo new circuit infeild is because from turn one, each corner is linked to the next. Fail on one corner and it is very hard to get back on track for the remaining ones.

New taupo is a great layout, I have always struggled with seemingly inconsistent grip the surface offers though.

Obviously these are just my humble opinions formed on my limited knowledge and experience.


(*Some exclusions apply)

[jrandom]

Fast rider has a 10% speed advantage.

If the fast rider has a '10% speed advantage' (that's a percentage, not a fixed speed differential) then he'll gain the same amount of time on the slow rider for every second spent in every corner, regardless of whether the corner is slow or fast.

Obviously, if you spend 5 seconds negotiating a corner you'll gain more time on a slower-cornering rider than if you spent 2 seconds negotiating it. Whether the corner's fast or slow is beside the point.

The question is whether that relative speed advantage goes up or down in fast or slow corners.

Assuming the bikes are relatively equal, a second gained in a slow corner is just as good as a second gained in a fast one.

What I haven't seen anyone comment on yet is whether more seconds are gained in fast corners. Yes, of course more metres are gained; that was my point. But does that actually equate to more seconds off the lap time?

To be honest, I doubt that anyone will be able to answer that definitively. Every rider is different enough that there's probably no hard and fast rule, and the top guys are basically just fast everywhere.

Going fast in fast corners is where you REALLY make time.

Reading between the lines, you seem to be saying that this is because you spend more time in fast corners.

Except, well, that entirely depends on the track, dunnit?

[jrandom]

I believe that the faster a corner is, the easier it is to get to the ultimate level of traction a bike has to offer...

I'm sorry, did I hear right? That sounded like 'faster corners are easier' to me.

[Shaun]

I'm sorry, did I hear right? That sounded like 'faster corners are easier' to me.

I would AGREE with that

[slowpoke]

I believe that the faster a corner is, the easier it is to get to the ultimate level of traction a bike has to offer, and that is why lines and planning exits etc and looking at the bigger picture become more important in corners like that. On slower ones, when you reach the maximum traction avaliable, it tends to snap a lot quicker and violently.

I notice that a lot of the superbike riders and 600 riders complain about slow corners and getting drive down. After witnessing first hand on the track the level of throttle control some* of the riders have, it's asstounding how many DONT fall off. Don't get me wrong, they have extremly large amounts of talent to be racing at those sorts of paces, but in the slower corners it would seem the riders would benifit greatly with the use of a little more finesse with thier throttle hand.

The faster you are travelling the more gyroscopic effect there is from the wheels and the more inherently stable the bike becomes. With the increased gyroscopic effect the bike becomes more difficult to turn but it also becomes much harder to get the bike out of shape.
It's not just about throttle control but also about the change in handling characteristics relative to speed.
Whatever, it's been interesting hearing about the different tracks and checking out a few layouts on the web. It's got me checking calendars, checking my roster and planning to experience a few more before too long.

[roogazza]

Wow a lot of professional and complete amature opinions in here.


Obviously these are just my humble opinions formed on my limited knowledge and experience.

The first and last lines say it all ...........

ps. but getting back on topic my favourite was Levels. G.

[FROSTY:Me]

Elevation changes? If measured in inches maybe....
The infield is one line, 1 gear for most of it. When running the short new configuration you only need two gears on a big bike for the whole damn thing. They have tried to fit too many corners into too small a place and ended up with a mickey mouse go kart track.

Er dude that was what I was saying
Except for the elevation changes-Not bein a smartass but clearly you havent walked the track matey
The difference in elevation from the highest to lowest point in the track is 3.0m --I promise you --Ive walked round the place er once or twice
The dropoff from turn 1-4 is quite reasonable
That said--Again I agree with you--great for trackdays but it could have been so much better with maybee 3 less corners to open the track up

[slowpoke]

Er dude that was what I was saying
Except for the elevation changes-Not bein a smartass but clearly you havent walked the track matey
The difference in elevation from the highest to lowest point in the track is 3.0m --I promise you --Ive walked round the place er once or twice
The dropoff from turn 1-4 is quite reasonable
That said--Again I agree with you--great for trackdays but it could have been so much better with maybee 3 less corners to open the track up

Yep, fair enough Frosty.
I was thinking more of Wanneroo/Barbagallo in WA where a simple circuit has been made much more interesting with large changes in elevation. I was talking to Tony Rees and he recounted coming off on the uphill left hand sweeper.
The elevation changes there make for some interesting contradictions with a change in direction as you crest the hill, then braking on the steep downhill section before turning sharply in The Basin with your suspension under compression and firing up over the hill again before swooping down the main straight and braking on the slope before the front straight etc. Good fun with maybe a 30m elevation change in places.

[FROSTY:Me]

Yup --Im hoping that the great hope for NZ motorsport isn't the same as Taupo when its finalised.
Last year at ruapuna I was told that the local mining co was buying the land the tracks on.
I don't know if it was fact or fiction mind you but the story goes that they.were going to provide an alternatice venue in their old quarry so there would be plenty of decent height and angle changes.
Why I like ruapuna is that there is such a variety of corner types and speeds.

[puddytat]

Last year at ruapuna I was told that the local mining co was buying the land the tracks on..

WOT the Fark,...Really? :
Anyone else heard anything about that?

[Kickaha]

WOT the Fark,...Really? :
Anyone else heard anything about that?

Yes really, but the deal is now off, the Track would have shifted to the other side of the road down into the old quarry and a whole new facilty would have been built