Pacific Raceways walkthrough
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Joined: Feb 2002
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From: PDX
Having studied this thread before heading to Pacific Raceways and then driving it yesterday, I found the entire track is MUCH tighter than it appears to be from the track description and diagram. As a result, there's MUCH less time to settle the car between transitions. It made the track a lot of fun, but it was also far more challenging than I expected. Oh, and there's kind of no runoff in any of the places you might need it... 
Some comments on some of the corners:
1. Turn 1: I hit 135 at the turn-in point for Turn 1, at which speed I lost the nerve to stay on the throttle going across the apex and over the crest. The pavement's not in great shape, and the car seemed to get a bit wiggy/light at that speed. Does anyone have any experience with the landing at higher speeds?
2. Turn 2's just great from every perspective -- high speed entry, interesting radius, deceptive camber changes, subtle pavement variations -- and when you get it right it's a charmer.
3. The downhill stretch coming into Turn 3a goes the entire way through the exit of 3b and is WAY steeper than I expected. I never quite found a line I liked through Turn 3a, but it's clear that setting up the line for 3b is all that really matters here. I cut the corner into 3a, however, in order to brake later/straighter, but I'm not sure it helped my lap time any.
4. The bump at Turn 5a is frightening -- if you're just off line by a few inches (I found that putting two inches of rubber down on the inside curbing seemed to be a good line) it goes from being disruptive to tossing the car with abandon. I can see why a LOT of machinery gets written off here every year.
5. The compression coming out of Turn 6 permits you to put a LOT of power down, but I had to be very careful not to let the turbo spool too early or the back end just gave loose as I cleared the apex. My only major moment happened there, and I used every last inch of track to reign the rear back in.
6. Turn 7 is eerie -- and I was never full-on through it, as the car was just too uneasy.
I thought that the descriptions posted here were VERY helpful, and I hope others will read them before doing their first day at Pacific Raceways, as this is an invaluable resources for people new to the track.
CB
Some comments on some of the corners:
1. Turn 1: I hit 135 at the turn-in point for Turn 1, at which speed I lost the nerve to stay on the throttle going across the apex and over the crest. The pavement's not in great shape, and the car seemed to get a bit wiggy/light at that speed. Does anyone have any experience with the landing at higher speeds?
2. Turn 2's just great from every perspective -- high speed entry, interesting radius, deceptive camber changes, subtle pavement variations -- and when you get it right it's a charmer.
3. The downhill stretch coming into Turn 3a goes the entire way through the exit of 3b and is WAY steeper than I expected. I never quite found a line I liked through Turn 3a, but it's clear that setting up the line for 3b is all that really matters here. I cut the corner into 3a, however, in order to brake later/straighter, but I'm not sure it helped my lap time any.
4. The bump at Turn 5a is frightening -- if you're just off line by a few inches (I found that putting two inches of rubber down on the inside curbing seemed to be a good line) it goes from being disruptive to tossing the car with abandon. I can see why a LOT of machinery gets written off here every year.
5. The compression coming out of Turn 6 permits you to put a LOT of power down, but I had to be very careful not to let the turbo spool too early or the back end just gave loose as I cleared the apex. My only major moment happened there, and I used every last inch of track to reign the rear back in.
6. Turn 7 is eerie -- and I was never full-on through it, as the car was just too uneasy.
I thought that the descriptions posted here were VERY helpful, and I hope others will read them before doing their first day at Pacific Raceways, as this is an invaluable resources for people new to the track.
CB
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Joined: Oct 2000
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From: Seattle
Originally posted by mikegarrison
Walt Conley of the BMW CCA has put together a set of track notes describing the PR "student line".
http://www.bmwpugetsound.com/pr_track_notes.pdf
Walt Conley of the BMW CCA has put together a set of track notes describing the PR "student line".
http://www.bmwpugetsound.com/pr_track_notes.pdf
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