cbender

Does anyone have a line diagram for Spokane or care to do a write-up? I'm headed there on Sunday for an event on Monday. If you do, pls. PM the Tedster so he can link it to the PacNW track thread:

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=98080

Best and thanks,
CBender

Tedster

The track map in the track info thread is the best one I have been able to find; nothing with the line, or even suitable for drawing in the line seems to be available. If anyone has such a thing, please let me know about it.

Wow, have we really never done a turn-by-turn writeup of Spokane? I guess not. I'm pretty sure that there are good descriptions of some individual turns scattered through the various threads from our trips there, but nothing coherent.

I'll see if I can find time to write something up in the next couple of days.

Anyone else care to take a stab at it?

mikegarrison

Let's see, just some things from memory:

T1: do not lift, do not brake for T2 at least until you feel the bumps in T1, do not track out -- you need to set up for T2 immediately

T2: stay about 2/3 of the way out, let the natural camber suck you in to the apex, track out is at the top of a blind crest

T3: aim at a flag station until it is time to turn in. This is usually a passing zone. Some bumps in road. Do not track out more than half the roadway, because the outside is off camber. Stay left.

T4: aim as though you are going to take the access/escape road. Some bumps in the breaking zone, coordinate braking so you aren't braking at crests. Tight apex, don't worry about tracking out, because you need to be setting up for 4b. track out 4b.

T5: very slow, track out as far as you can and still set up for T6

T6: not quite as slow. leads to a passing zone.

T7: just a dogleg

T8: again, some bumps in the braking zone. Take it slower than you first think you need to take it.

T9: set up for T10, do not track out too far or you will be unbalanced when turning in for T10

T10: sets up straightaway, track out as far as you dare, but it is intimidating because it looks like you will hit a wall. Late apex to carry as much speed as possible into the straight.

Tedster

Good start, Mike.

Here's some more (speeds and gears are just for refernece; based on my experience in a MY2000 stockish S2000 with RA-1s).

T1: 5th (or 6th?) gear/115-130+mph right sweeper; would be a full speed flat out sweeper, if it weren't for the bump in the braking zone for T2; feels pretty comfortable at 115, beyond that it gets a bit hairy, but I do it at 120 to 125 fairly often. Work up to it, lifting/braking as necessary well before turn in of T1, and get back on neutral+ throttle. Turn in is from far track left, apex at track right, straighten the wheel and ride through the bump.

T2: 3rd gear/70-80mph left sweeper; Immediately after the bump, it's a solid braking zone to drop from ~115+ to ~70 in a pretty short distance for T2. You can angle in from far track right towards the center of the track to lengthen your braking zone, at the expense of a slightly less optimal turn in point. You should be able to turn the wheel once, setting you on an arc to stay about 2/3 out like Mike said, and about half way through the turn you will find yourself moving down towards the late apex. Somewhere in there you can start getting on the throttle as (or before) you start unwinding. There's plenty of nice camber late in T2. From just before the apex on, it's uphill to the track out point. From that crest on is a passing zone.

There are significant elevation undulations (10-15 feet?) from the apex of T2 till past T3.

T3: 4th gear/110-115mph left sweeper; At the track out of T2, you should be able to aim for the (unused) flag station ahead on track right, and keep your wheel almost straight; you'll clip track left, then track right, then head for track right again. Start dialing in some left steering as you get close to the T3 turn-in cone on track right (don't get all the way right, leave several feet). Do hit the apex cone, though. T3 is flat out WOT, 110-115 for me around the apex. There's a bit of a bump here, and if I don't get my left front tire to touch the apex, the car feels really squirrely. Do not track out more than half track width, as it gets off camber and is full of marbles. Get back over to track left to set up for 4; I hit the 120s here.

T4a: 3rd gear/50-55mph sharp right; You can brake pretty late here once you get comfortable with it; like Mike says, figure out your braking point to avoid the hill crests. Very late, sharp turn in. You can be on the throttle from before the apex of 4a.

T4b: 3rd gear/65-70mph left; Make both of those apexes. I get into the mid 70s before braking for 5.

T5: 2nd gear/40mph sharp left; late turn in, slow. Track out all the way to the right with hard throttle. Great second gear squirt from exit of T5 to braking for T6; if I do it right, I get right up to the rev-limiter (mid-60s).

T6: 2nd gear/40mph sharp right; track all the way out to the left, a little faster going in than 5, a bit later on the throttle, as you unwind.

T7: 3rd gear/75-85mph left sweeper; not much going on here. Shift to 4th after the apex.

T8: 3rd gear/55-60mph medium left; Brake and downshift after the crest. Late, sharp turn in (maybe later than they cone it). Try to hook around the apex cone a bit to track left towards the pits, to set up for 9.

T9: 3rd gear/60-65mph medium right; There's a patch of 'added pavement' on the right that would be nice to use, but they get mad when you do.

T10: 3rd gear/65-75mph moderate left; enter pretty far track right (but not too far!); late turn in, late apex on the throttle, track out all the way to the right (a bit scary on all accounts).

T8/T9/T10 are one big left/right/left complex, with exit of 10 the priority. Use 8 to set up 9, and 9 to set up 10.

The main passing zone starts just past the drag strip burnout box. Slow traffic stays right, passers to the middle, cars entering will be far left. Very long, pretty wide straight.

mikegarrison

Almost all the spins I ever see at Spokane happen in T6. You really have to properly modulate your throttle as you come out of there.

The racers say T3 is the most dangerous. That's because they end up going into that off-camber bit on the exit. I've been out there once, and I thought I was going to have to use my emergency pants for the rest of the day....

jerrypeterson

Chris, with or without the Turbo? The track gets a little trickier as the speeds increase. You will run out of gear all over the place and you will need to do some serious braking before turn 1.

T2: The pavement change entering the brake zone is a redundant wake up call. You can brake deceptively late for this turn, and its actually a lot more sane to wait until the suspension settles after the bump, even at 120+. There are a bazzilion and one lines through turn 2 but the optimal line for you car has a neat reference. Believe it or not some enterprising individual grabbed a can of white spraypaint and shot a visible spot into the middle of the race line. Just after half-way in this turn it will be right there! The spot should be middle-left when it passes underneath your car for a late apex (if you gots da power). A lot of the weekend drivers use a super late apex in this turn for who knows what reason, but that will dump into a funky place for the turn exit. When you exit turn 2 keep far right to prevent your car from bottoming out at a 100mph just after exit. I am positive you will figure out why.

At turn exit you can line up on the next flag station to keep from following the offcamber and very bumpy right hand edge on your way to turn 3.

T3: Not much rocket science to this turn but there is a little funk for color. Do not track all the way right on turn entry. The pavement at the turn in point would be a whirlpool shaped off-camber dip. Start about 7/8's of the surface to the right and no more. If you are approaching at 120mph+, the only way to keep from drifting out into the marbles is to 'hook' the driver's side tire at the apex. Dip the tire just off the pavement and it will catch you and force the car forward. The dip is very gradual so I wouldn't worry too much about busting up your suspension. More than the off camber, the marbles out in the section are your worst enemy. Its like driving on an oil slick there are so many. If you have an opportunity to look, there are so many unswept marbles here year-round that it looks like a black fuzzy carpet from a low angle. Very un-fun to drive in there. Can you guess why I hook the tire?

T4: Uneven pavement in the brake zone, but there is an exit road if you screw up. You can afford to push the limits on entry to this turn since you have a way out if you fcuk up. Please note the pavement drops off at the apex. I recommend keeping the tires on the road here. Unless you want new fillings. You are full throttle past the apex all the way to the brake zone for T5.

T4b: You'll figure it out.

T5: You might run out of 3rd gear but its not worth shifting to 4th before the brake zone. Wait until the dip and slam the brakes. On entry there is some extra pavement on the right, you can use that to widen your arc for turn entry. Its a second gear 270 degree turn, really tight and its super important to get the car rotated. You should have enough power to turn using the throttle. You'll bounce the rev limiter at track-out. Don't shift to third gear before turn 6 unless you want the extra work.

T6: Fun.

T7: You'll have to shift to 4th gear at or before the apex. How smooth can you be?

T8: The entry is the hard part. The braking zone has a plateau right where you'll want it. It will take some faith in your brakes, but you can slow down 'enough' to make the turn. If you want some intimidatation, walk that corner and check out the ditch waiting to reward you if you screw up and blow the turn. Exit turn 8 in the middle of the track, do not track out all the way to the right. It will be very obvious why when you drive it.

T9: Be extremely careful not use agressive wheel movements in the T8-9-10 complex. You are basically loading up one side of the car and transitioning to the other in short order. Most guys that spin do so on the entry to T10, and this is exactly why.

T10: Mega late apex and the track out looks scary to boot. As you drift out there is a loose pile of tires and some debris before the retaining wall starts. Be a man and stay on the gas. You should hit 100mph going into the box. This surface is the extreme of slippery when wet. For the first session of the day or if it is raining, you should consider chickening out the exit of T10 in favor of being 100% straight into the box.

cbender

Hi Jerry,

With the turbo. I'm hoping that I may have the cooling issue under control. But Monday will give me the chance to prove things.

Thanks to you all -- Tedster, Mike, and Jerry (as well as to Ray by email and to Jim from ProFlow by phone) -- for the advice. As always, the preparation is, for me, a big part of the fun of going to a new track.

This is all very helpful.

Best,
Christopher

Tedster

Let us know how it goes.

cbender

Will do.

I was driving the track (in my head) at 2AM. It's true that for me, half the fun lies in the anticipation. I'm now wondering about the braking for turn 2; the marbles and how much speed one can carry through turn 3; and the final turn 8-9-10 transition and the extra pavement they don't like you to use...

Thanks again.

Tedster

What, Ray and Jim don't want to share their secret line with the whole class?