Opening my archive

[Yannick]

Molldelley is a permanent racetrack in the region of Mexico City at around 4000 metres in altitude. It hosts the OtherWorld(ly)Series' Mexican Grand Prix. Its length is 5.7 kilometers.

Track map: http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...g/3a9eb51e.jpg

Lap description:
The track runs anticlockwise. The start-finish straight is flat in the pitlane area, but at two thirds into it, the altitude abruptly changes to going moderately downhill. It continues like this until the westernmost and lowest point of the track, which is at about 90 degrees anticlockwise from the s/f-straight. But first, in the braking zone to the parabolica, drivers pass a slight kink to the left, Turn 1, which in a way tightens the parabolica that follows right after this, making it almost impossible to overtake on the outside there. Of course, Turn 2, the parabolica (3rd gear) is the major overtaking point of this track. This corner is also the most significant feature of the Molldelley Circuit. In total, it goes around more than 180 degrees, though not all of this angle feels like a corner. Having passed through the tightest part of the parabolica on its entry, cars accelerate through the tail of the parabolica for the so-called back straight that is more a long right-hand bow than a straight. Going along this tail, the parabolica tightens again for its 2nd apex, whilst cars are still accelerating. The track goes moderately uphill again until the approach to the chicane (7th gear), where the speed trap is located and the 2nd sector times are taken. Here, the same level of altitude as on the s/f-straight has been reached. The track continues on this level of height without any major changes until Turn 8. Approaching the chicane on the back straight, cars brake heavily, making this another overtaking opportunity. It's left and right through the chicane, Turn 3 (2nd gear) and Turn 4. Accelerating through the wide right hander Turn 5, the track leads toward another straight. Motorbikes usually pass by the chicane and continue on the straight, even though that makes Turn 5 all the more dangerous for them. Bypassing the chicane like this would make Turn 5 a corner that really takes courage, because it would be possible to take it full in 7th gear with the right set-up. Since the runoff was considered not sufficient, the chicane was introduced in 2000.
At the end of the next straight, there is yet another fast right-hander, Turn 6 (5th gear), which leads into a short bow, after which there suddenly follows a kink to the right, Turn 7 (4th gear). Already at the apex of Turn 7, drivers must decide which line to take through the subsequent section that leads back onto the s/f-straight, because after only a short straight bit, there follows the left-hander Turn 8 (4th gear too, but only 3rd for some lines) that goes along with a sudden steep rise in altitude, which continues until the apex of the right-hander Turn 9 (3rd gear). After Turn 9, there is another straight bit, but this time around it is one that leads steeply downhill into the left-hander Turn 10 (3rd gear accelerating), that slowly opens up leading towards the s/f-straight. Turn 10 is heavily cambered until after its apex, so that the bowed bit after the apex is flat again, on the level of the s/f-straight. Turns 7 to 10 make up the most technical section of the circuit, going across a ridge that's parallel to the s/f-straight, which fades at about half the length of that straight. This ridge is the most popular spectator place for general admission ticket holders, since from here, you are basically overlooking the grandstands on the opposite side of the pitlane, so it's like being on another stand further above. The top rows of the grandstands are able to overlook the pitlane building and can see the chicane further back, so from up on the ridge, you can see that too. And if you've been lucky to get a place on the ridge close to the apex of Turn 9, cars won't leave your view from the time they enter the kink Turn 7, go uphill through Turn 8, pass through Turn 9 behind the fence in front of you, go downhill again through Turn 10 onto the s/f-straight, on which they cross the line to finish a lap of Molldelley. Only further down the straight, you won't be able to see them anymore, as they go unseen behind lots of banners and flags that are being waved by other enthusiasts.

Track history:
This track was built around 1994 as a possible replacement for the Hermanos Rodriguez Circuit at Mexico City that was deemed unsafe at the time. That's also when I first drew a sketch with this track on, but only much later, around the millenium, I came back to it and drew a full version of it. I was always fascinated by the idea of having a racetrack at an altitude of thin air, so I decided to have a highspeed track at such a location where at their worst, engines would tend to stutter for lack of breath, and it's not a surprise that the organisers of the OtherWorld(ly) Series kind of agreed ;-)
The name Molldelley resulted from goofing around with the name Monterrey, and the track is just called that because unfortunately, I couldn't come up with a better name.
Molldelley has been the home of the Mexican Grand Prix since the year 2000, when the chicane on the backstraight was introduced.

[V8_TURBO]

I like it, but I would change the entire thin into a roval. But once again, that's just my opinion.

[Rockmunky]

5.7ks? Sweet, very fast, just how i like it. That chican though, i'd prefer that to not exist and have that corner after it as fast as possible! But that's me, i like danger Great track that, and once again, lovely description.

[Tathrim]

Sorry I haven't been here a while, but I only just got back from holiday.

Anyway, what I suggest you do is either roval it, or find some more variety in the different corners.

[Yannick]

Thanks for the comments and compliments on Molldelley. Initially, it was just a sketch that had gone unnoticed, were it not for the biro pressing through onto the layer below the paper, that was obviously of much more longeivity (something like a school bag...)
Well, to be honest, the design of Molldelley drew heavy inspiration from the Paddock Bend section of Salzburgring, just that I set it to a larger scale and higher altitude.
As for the roval idea, how long would such an oval be then? If the s/f-straight was part of the oval, it might work, but if the bowed backstraight is part of the oval, it would probably be too long, wouldn't it.

Anyway, here's the next one from the series in a few seconds:

[Yannick]

Tevernburgh is a permanent racetrack in the US American state of Georgia. For the OtherWorld(ly) Series, it hosts the Grand Prix of USA South. Its length is 5.0 kilometers.

Track map: http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...g/719f6ff9.jpg

Track history:
Tevernburgh originally came upon the map of motor sport as a dirt track used for stock car racing in the 1950s. In the late 1970s, the first tarmac surface was built, and both the hairpin and the Loop were introduced. The Loop makes this track something special, since it is the only corner on the calendar which turns cars around 270 degrees, with the track crossing over itself on a bridge. During its existence, the track has hosted some CanAm and IndyLights races and motorbike races over the years, before the OtherWorld(ly) Series chose it as the home of their USA South Grand Prix in the mid-1990s, which it has hosted ever since. For the 1st of these events, the circuit was modernized and the chicane at the end of the start-finish straight was introduced, for what was then considered lack of runoff at the hairpin.

Lap description:
The track goes anticlockwise. The back half of the grid starts moderately downhill, since these grid spots are located on the descent from the loop, whilst the rest of the grid starts on the flat part of the start-finish straight. At the end of that, there is Turn 1 (3rd gear, 4th gear for some), the first of 3 corners that belong to the chicane. Cars then brake for the slowest of the three chicane corners, Turn 2 (2nd gear), while they accelerate back out onto the straight through Turn 3. Currently, there are discussions as to whether the chicane should be removed or replaced by an almost straight set of bows, to encourage overtaking under braking into the hairpin that's next, Turn 4 (1st gear). After having turned around those 180 degrees, there follow two tight, almost 90 degree corners, Turn 5 to the right, which opens up on its exit and through the whole of which cars are accelerating, and Turn 6 (3rd gear). Right after Turn 6, there is a sudden steep downfall, which morphs into a moderate descent as the track approaches the first of two greater radius corners, the right-hander Turn 7 (still accelerating), which is positively cambered. Right next comes the 2nd of those two wide corners, the left-hander Turn 8 (full throttle accelerating for the back straight). The overall lowpoint of the track is reached at the apex of Turn 8, where the moderate descent that preceded it, suddenly turns into a steep rise, comparable in altitude to the downfall after Turn 6. The climb there is a bit Eau-Rouge-ish, but not as high as that one. The result of this change in altitude is that Turn 8 is basically a blind corner through which you go full throttle. The altitude turns to going moderately uphill as Turn 8 fades out into the long, bowed back straight. At the end of the 'straight', the bow slowly decreases its radius again until it abruptly turns into the left-hander Turn 9 (4th gear), that is a good overtaking opportunity, well, for the brave, because at its apex there is the overall highpoint of the track, so it is yet another blind corner. After having gone around this bend, cars race along the 3rd long straight of the circuit, which at first goes moderately downhill, and turns to only slightly downhill at that right-hand kink at the end of the straight, Turn 10, which still goes full throttle, but on the exit of which there begins the braking zone for Tevernburgh's singularly most characteristic corner. That one is of course The Loop, Turn 11 (2nd gear, 1st gear for some lines). Before going into the loop, you pass under the bridge with the track and that very corner's exit on it. And then you turn sharply right. The Loop begins building up reverse camber, in a way that the track hangs downhill on its outside for about half of the 270 degrees. At about 135 degrees into The Loop, the track is flat for a moment, just before positive camber begins to reign and has the track hanging towards the inside for the 2nd 135 degrees, but way less heavy than the reverse camber on entry. After crossing the bridge with the corner's entry underneath it, the track leads moderately downhill for the 1st half of the grid, until it goes along flat, crossing the s/f-line. Of course, you can overtake into the loop, but your opponent has a good chance of being in front of you again when exiting the corner. Anyway, the next chance awaits at the end of the s/f-straight, so never mind ;-)
For spectators, grandstands atop the Loop are recommended, where you can see cars approaching it on the 3rd straight, going through it, and leaving it, observing them from the back as they run away along the s/f-straight. Other recommended viewing areas are the general admission area on the outside of Turn 7, that's as high above the track as the exit of Turn 8, so you can see as far as from the entrance to the hairpin Turn 4 to way into Turn 8. And of course, the seats at the highpoint of the circuit, at the end of the bowed backstraight in Turn 9 are not to be missed either, since you can view the cars approaching the corner on the back straight and leaving on the 3rd straight, while you can also catch glimpses of them as they go down the s/f-straight, and into the hairpin.

[ScotsBrutesFan]

If there is more space to be had for run-off at the hairpin, I'd remove the chicane and slide the pits more into the centre of the straight. And with it the S/F line.

The only other comment I'd make is that the loop is too short and tight, therefore the climb would have to be very sharp...perhaps too sharp. Maybe open it out to something more like this...

[jab]

Yeah, that looks better. It's a good, original idea, Yannick, but on yours it was way too tight

[V8_TURBO]

Not too keen on it, But it has got potential.

[Yannick]

Thanks for the replies. Without them, I wouldn't have realized that the Loop was too tight. Anyway, it was meant to be steep. Leaving out the chicane is perfectly alright with me.
I haven't finished writing the description to the next issue in the series yet, since time was lacking a bit over the last few weeks so that will probably have to wait until the weekend.
See you then. Bye.

[Yannick]

Chimoyen is a permanent race track with a hotel, located in the French departement Haute-Savoie, east of Geneva at an altitude of around 410 meters above sea level.
It is the home of the OtherWorld(ly)Series' Swiss Grand Prix. Its length is 7.0 kilometers.

Track history:
The track shape is based on a blot that used to be a huge stain on a carpet, probably from dropping a coffee cup, that I first saw back in 1998. But only in 2002, when the OtherWorld(ly) Series chose to host a Swiss Grand Prix on the French outskirts of Switzerland, since this type of motor racing is forbidden in Switzerland, I first drew this track. Probably, many of you mytrackers will think that the right hand side of the track needs some revision. Feel free to post your edits, but please don't remove the hotel (see track description for its location). Thanks.

Lap description:
The track goes anticlockwise with the start-finish straight running moderately downhill towards some Esses, Turn 1 (3rd gear) and Turn 2 (accelerating again). At the apex of Turn 1, the track altitude turns to steeply downhill until it returns to moderately downhill at the exit of Turn 2, making this a 'blind' section. After that, there is a short straight that ends in the multi-radius corner Turn 3 (5th gear, 4th gear for some). Turn 3 begins as a slight bow. As the corner radius becomes tighter, the overall lowpoint of the track is reached, and at the apex of Turn 3, the corner is reversely cambered and going steeply uphill again. At about the point where the runoff trap ends, it's back to going only moderately uphill as the corner's 2nd apex is approaching. Next are another Esses, made up of Turns 4 and 5. A local highpoint in altitude is reached at the apex of Turn 4 (5th gear), from where the the track goes steeply downhill again through the tighter half of these Esses, Turn 5 (4th gear). After Turn 5, there follows another short straight piece of track, leading moderately downhill to the left-hander Turn 6 (2nd gear, 3rd gear for some). Turn 6 lies significantly lower than the s/f-straight on its outside, so there are a few good spectator spots for general admission ticket holders here and in Turn 1. Exiting Turn 6, cars go full throttle along the straight that's flat until it turns moderately uphill with steadily increasing altitude at the apex of the right-hand kink that is Turn 7 (7th gear). The steepest point of this is reached at the entrance to the fast 90 degree left-hander Turn 8 (4th gear), right after the 1st sector times are being taken. Turn 8 is positively cambered and has a local highpoint at its apex, on from where the track drops in altitude only slightly until the next kink, so Turn 8 is yet another blind corner.
Then there is this tiny kink called Turn 9 in this short straight leading towards the chicane, where the track altitude becomes flat again, as my language in track description becomes more and more repetitive. At the chicane, consisting of Turns 10 and 11 to be taken in 2nd gear, cars occasionally jump heavily over the kerbs, ruining their underbodies. Basically, this is a place to be careful, and not to make a mistake. Anyway, it's important to get through the chicane cleanly, since right after it, the goal is to build up speed for the backstraight. After the chicane, the track goes moderately uphill again, until it reaches its overall highpoint at the apex of the parabolic right-hander Turn 12 (accelerating for the straight). On from there, cars go moderately downhill at full throttle towards the big bow in the backstraight, Turn 13 (7th gear full), at the exit of which the track turns to going slightly uphill again, continuing so until Turn 16. At the end of the backstraight, there follows another S-shaped combination, consisting of the tight left-hander Turn 14 (2nd gear, 3rd gear for some), and the wider right-hander Turn 15, through which cars accelerate for the short straight leading up to Turn 16. At the apex of that one (3rd gear), cars go moderately downhill again through a tiny left-hand kink (Turn 17) towards the tight hairpin Turn 18 (1st gear). There is the circuit's own hotel, built in the infield of the track (albeit not shown on the track map) around the outside of Turn 18, on the roof of which paddock club members have a decent view of the hairpin, the paddock and their own drinks. The hairpin Turn 18 is therefore sometimes nicknamed 'Loews' after the corner of the same name of the Monaco street circuit, which served as a blueprint for it.
After having passed through the hairpin, the track is flat in altitude but still slow, going around the hotel through a section of two right-handers and one left-hander, that gets tighter with each corner, the so-called Fish-Tail, Turns 19 to 21 (2nd gear). Exiting the tight right Turn 21, the track turns left for over 180 degrees in a bow-ish way, with the paddock on the outside in the infield, going moderately dowhill at first, turning back to slightly uphill at two thirds into the bow, Turn 22 (4th gear at most). At the end of the bow, there is the final corner, the 2nd hairpin, Turn 23 (1st gear), after the apex of which the track altitude is equal to the one on the s/f-straight that's next. Crossing the line, you have finished a lap on the Chimoyen Circuit And Hotel Spa. Supposing we say you have won the race here, a beverage produced by one of the race's sponsors is being handed to you on the winners' podium: French mineral water. Luckily for you fellow champagne sprayers, this is an exception to the rule.
As for overtaking opportunities, there are several on this track, the most popular being of course Turn 1 at the end of the s/f-straight, the fast Turn 8 and Turn 14 at the end of the backstraight, but it's possible to overtake an opponent into the final hairpin, too, if you are lucky.

Oh, and here is the map: http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...g/9e1c4d4a.jpg

[Tathrim]

what I am suggesting is that you change the mickey mouse section in to two multi apex corners, forming an esse, between the kink before the hairpin (turn 17-19), and the last corner, widening the runoffs to compensate for thiincreased speeds in that section and the first two cornrers.

[V8_TURBO]

Originally Posted by Tathrim

what I am suggesting is that you change the mickey mouse section in to two multi apex corners, forming an esse, between the kink before the hairpin (turn 17-19), and the last corner, widening the runoffs to compensate for thiincreased speeds in that section and the first two cornrers.

Yeah, that sounds like a better idea. The rest of the track is still nice though. Cool.

[Yannick]

Originally Posted by Tathrim

what I am suggesting is that you change the mickey mouse section in to two multi apex corners, forming an esse, between the kink before the hairpin (turn 17-19), and the last corner, widening the runoffs to compensate for thiincreased speeds in that section and the first two cornrers.

Thanks for the idea, Tathrim. Unfortunately, I can't imagine what these Esses would look like without having to remove the final hairpin. Is that what you had in mind?

[Tathrim]

Yes, that is what I was thinking of, that is why I said the runoff needed to be widened a the beginning and end of the start/finish straight,

[ScotsBrutesFan]

I'd definitely change the right hand twisty section, and take advantage of the huge infield area. I'd make that even easier by moving the pits to the outside.

[Tathrim]

that is probably a good move.

[Yannick]

I'm planning to edit some tracks from my archive at some time in the future (time is limited for a hobby like this) when I find the time and the Chimoyen Circuit above will certainly be one of them. So thanks to all of you for your suggestions and replies. I will see how an infield section fits in with the hotel grounds that I unfortunately didn't include in the track map for whatever reason.

But first, let me now continue the series...

[Yannick]

Ulmenberg is a permanent racetrack located in the Bavarian Alps, southeast of Munich near Rosenheim. It hosts the OtherWorld(ly)Series' German Grand Prix. Track length is 3.8 kilometers.

Track history:
Built as an oval by local car manufacturer BMW in the 1950s, the track was used as a test track for road cars until the mid-1970s when the it became disused. During the mid-1980s, still owned by BMW, a reconstruction proposal was made to attract a Formula 1 race, but
the application for that was beaten by the new Nürburgring. In the late 1980s, the remains of the track that were pretty rundown at the time, were sold to a committee consisting in part of organisers of the OtherWorld(ly)Series. In turn, the new owners rebuilt the track as a road course that is based on the oval layout, kind of like a roval, like the original reconstruction proposal had outlined. On from 1989, it has hosted that series' German Grand Prix. The only things that have been left in as part of the reconstructed circuit from the initial 2 1/4 mile oval are the start-finish straight, the 180 degree Turn 1 that has a mild 5 degree banking, and a relatively short piece of the oval's back-straight. The wall surrounding the track had been removed in several places to gain runoff space, but not so in Turn 1, making it probably the most dangerous corner in the current OtherWorld(ly) Series calendar. And finally, the 2nd 180 degree banked turn, that was banked much higher than the one which was left in, has not been deconstructed, but is part of the parking lot now. I first drew this track in one of my initial sessions in 1991, when I wanted a really fast track. It may be considered a little boring by today's standards, but fast it is.

Here's the track map: http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...g/656318c2.jpg

Lap description:
Ulmenberg runs anticlockwise. As the track was developed from a 2 1/4 mile oval with two 180 degree banked turns, the track shows no significant changes in altitude. It is probably the fastest track on the OtherWorld(ly) Series calendar, since the roval type layout doesn't stay far away from the underlying oval. The location of the track in the north of the Alps mountains means that cars racing on it are sometimes exposed to a special weather condition, a downslope wind they call 'Foehn', that can confuse cars' aerodynamical setup come race day, because it blows down from above with a steep angle. This wind can make racing on a highspeed circuit like this one quite difficult, especially when the weather conditions change on race day and there is no more time left for setup changes.
Having gone down the start-finish straight full throttle, cars turn left into Turn 1 that consists of the original oval-turn 1, which tightens in radius at around three quarters into it, leading cars into the infield section. That's also where the 2nd apex of Turn 1 is located. Turn 1 is 7th gear all the way, with drivers lifting a little as the corner is at its tightest, but it's quite difficult to get the fastest line through it. If you choose a wrong line or don't have that much courage, it means you might need to go back to 6th gear and that costs some valuable time as the lap is relatively short. Next is the backstraight, leading into the infield of the oval, that ends at the wide right-hander Turn 2 (5th gear), that goes around near 90 degrees. The radius of Turn 2 closes in only slightly as the corner progresses. After another straight bit, there follows a wide left-hander, Turn 3 (6th gear accelerating), which leads cars back onto the original oval. The next corner, Turn 4, a quick left hander in 5th gear (but only 4th gear for some) is fast approaching, which leads cars off of the original oval and onto another straight, bypassing the former 2nd banked turn. At the end of that, there is Turn 6 (4th gear, but 3rd gear if it's two cars that need to fit through), that's both the tightest and the final corner of the track.
When it comes to overtaking under braking, there is only the final corner that allows for it, but this track is famous for the many slipstreaming duels that have taken place here over the years, many of which have been decided in Turn 1 or Turn 2 as well. Since the use of speedway kits is not prohibited, some teams arrive here with parts from special equipment for ovals on their cars, whilst others prefer genuine road setups.

[V8_TURBO]

Simple, but yet it has a nice feel to it. I think that the inner circuit is so simple, but it suits it perfectly. Great.

[Yannick]

@V8_TURBO: Thanks for the compliment. Ulmenberg is one of my oldest tracks, and that's probably the main reason why it is ruled by simplicity. Maybe the reason why many rovals don't flow nicely is that the nature of an oval is pretty simple and wide but infields tend to be tricky and tight ...

The next circuit in the series is to follow shortly.

[Yannick]

Chouchin is a permanent racetrack on the island of Honshu in Japan. Its length is 6.1 kilometers and it hosts the annual Japanese Grand Prix of the OtherWorld(ly) Series.

Track history:
There is not much there in track history, since this is a fairly new facility that I drew only this year (2006) and is basically the newest track in this series and the only design in this thread that I drew after I had discovered the MyTracks message board. It is basically a reaction to the Japanese F1 Grand Prix moving from Suzuka to Fuji, which made me realize I had not done a track for Japan yet. The name Chouchin came to mind, because the track shape is derived from a blot that included a lamp.

To view it, click here: http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...g/5494d0eb.jpg

Lap description:
The Chouchin Circuit runs clockwise. The start-finish straight is a special place for spectators to watch a race, since the between the main grandstands and the pits opposing them, there is not one straight, but two parallel ones, with an obvious overtaking opportunity at the end of each. So the main grandstands at Chouchin should be able provide more racing action than any main grandstand on any other racetrack. Both of these straights are flat in altitude, and they are about the only place on the track, where that is the case. Driving towards the right, as seen from the main grandstands across from the pitlane, cars head down the s/f-straight towards Turn 1, the parabolica. This bend is rather long-winded, as it stretches from near the pitlane exit all around the paddock and ends only at the kink atop a hill somewhere above the hairpin. So let me now describe the parabolica in detail: Turn 1 (4th gear at the corner's tightest) goes left-hand, at first in a rather big radius that decreases steadily until the northernmost point of Turn 1 is reached at its apex, on from where the track altitude goes moderately downhill along with the corner radius opening up into that bow leading through the valley behind the paddock. The local lowpoint is reached at the apex of the bow, and that is also the point, where the track begins to rise steadily increasing in angle until shortly before the following kink. During the whole bow, the track has a higher altitude on its right side (outside) than on its left side (toward the paddock), so that drivers feel the track hang to the left here. That also fades away gradually shortly before the right-hand kink, Turn 2, is reached at the end of the bow. Still, because of that, Turn 2 (7th gear) is reversely cambered, and at its apex, there is a local highpoint, on from which the track begins to decend again moderately.
After the kink, there follows another bow, but this time, it's almost straight and bowed to the right. At its beginning, it hangs to the left, just like the kink does, but this fades out into flat and into hanging slightly to the right, as the bow fades into Turn 3. Just before the apex of Turn 3, a sudden steep downfall occurs, which is over just before the next, tighter corner comes along. Therefore, breaking for the subsequent left-hander Turn 4 (3rd gear) is quite difficult. Turn 4 goes around almost 90 degrees, is the 2nd-tightest corner on the track, and when a driver messes it up, that can ruin the laptime. The whole of Turn 4 cannot be seen from the beginning of its braking zone up high in Turn 3, so it's a blind corner. Exiting Turn 4, cars accelerate through the tiny right-hander Turn 5 that follows immediately afterwards, at which the track altitude turns from having been flat for a short time only through Turn 4, to going slightly downhill, beginning at the apex of Turn 5. Next is another slight bow to the right, which fades into Turn 6 at its end. The track altitude reaches its lowpoint at the apex of Turn 6, which is taken full throttle, to build up speed for the longest straight on the circuit that's next. Turn 6 is slightly cambered around the area of its apex, but the bow that fades into the straight isn't anymore. The track altitude turns gradually from only slightly uphill at the overall lowpoint of the track at the apex of Turn 6 to moderately going uphill on from the bow that is Turn 7 (7th gear full). The long backstraight is leading moderately uphill all the way, as the overall highpoint of the circuit is to follow at the apex of Turn 8. The right-hander Turn 8 is a wide bend that is taken at high speed, which has its radius decreasing throughout, and depending on the line and courage, can be taken in 7th gear. Since the track's overall highpoint is reached at the apex of Turn 8, on from which the track experiences another steep downfall (that is less abrupt than the previous one), it is another blind corner. The next straight is the one opposite to the s/f-straight, which is of course, flat in altitude.
Cars are relatively fast here, having pushed really hard all the way since the exit of Turn 4, so most overtaking moves on this track occur under braking into the final corner that's next. The hairpin, Turn 9, is taken in 1st gear, and is another section to get through cleanly, as the s/f-straight follows, with the possibility to counter overtaking manoeuvres that took place at the hairpin, crossing the s/f-line in the process, finishing a lap of Chouchin.
The 1st sector times are being taken as cars go steeply downhill at the apex of Turn 3. 2nd sector times are being taken at the end of the long backstraight before Turn 8, and that is also the location of the speed trap.

[V8_TURBO]

I don't like the first corner or that chicane. I'll edit it later because I don't have the time right now.

[Tathrim]

http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/8439/edit2fy0.png
This is sotrt of what I was thinking opf.... buit it ain't exact.

[V8_TURBO]

It's just creating all the same problems, just elswhere.