Here's a discussion topic, one that you can all rip me to pieces with because I'm racing from the control room. Though I have punted 2 cars around Wakefield once upon a time.
From my point of view everyone (at least everyone I watched) is taking that kink too early. Its not a corner you want to hit the apex with. You should be at the centre of the track going through there. Maybe a bit to the right of centre. But you definitely dont want to be anywhere near the ripple strip on the inside.
Reason being you then turn sharper, you can then straighten the wheels quicker, you can brake later and harder because the car is heading in a straight line.
Compounding issues more, if you take the kink too early, when you straighten up you are heading for the outside of turn one and make it a longer tighter turn than what it needs to be.
Anyway, thats my opinion and something you might want to try next year.
Now, someone tell me how to do the loop at the top of the hill.
I thought the same though Chris, until after last years sprint where that bloke from the BMW club told me to come out from the edge of the track and then come in to the ripple been to wakefield 5 times now and it appears to be 'the line' ...
yeah i'm with you Chris.......had your voice in the back of my head everytime i have been through there 🤪 and it works better down in the braking area, being out wide and straight for braking.......went through there flatish in Rods car, didn't get to pucker up enough to try in the notch
i had to jab hard on the brakes in the middle of the loop up the top, down into the dip, to keep the notch from going off the end of the outside ripple strip on the exit
take the bloody notch round there! (for the 100 time)...........cause i wouldn't know shiz on how to pedal it round there 😊
what about the double apex in the middle......why is "everyone" seemingly hugging the inside all the way round........i came past the first apex and fired back on the second to be lined for the next corner
would love to have the time to sit and watch the old hands race lines
The 'line' through the kink depends on a number of things, such as handling characteristics, brakes, tyres, speed and so on.
My car [No.8 Beetle] requires as much 'straight' as possible, to allow the [drum] brakes & narrow tyres to do their job. Wider, softer tyres would allow a much later apex.
I'd rather wear a Beetle out by racing it than by polishing it!
Point taken Greg, my approach was flat in 4th gear and hit the brakes after the slight kink...being fwd the style may vary abit....BUT always keep the steering straight when you hit the anchors,
Craig Torrens6 times Australian, 7 times State Hillclimb Class Champion
Here's the line I take. Go to 1min35 for the start of the lap.
I go as close to the apex as possible, BUT I make it a straight line well before the apex and well after it so it doesn't really feel like a kink. As Steve has said above, all the braking is done well after the kink and in a straight line.
Craig Torrens6 times Australian, 7 times State Hillclimb Class Champion
Thats prettry much the line i've taken through 'the kink' as well, but to be honest until i'm actually picking up any sought of speed my braking areas don't matter to much
In your videos craig, both cars are still moving left at the point where they turn right. Since you're making that corner longer its got to be costing you time going up the hill? I guess its probably not that big a deal. Need to get someone to go down there on a practice day and spend a decent amount of time on both lines to see if its worth anything.
Having spent some time sitting out on the earth bank taking photos for the past three years, my observation (note I'm not saying my experience) is that when people try to keep too much speed at the end of the straight they end up making the corner sharper, then have to wipe off too much speed to make it, thus making it harder to get up the hill. You can hear the engine note drop down low as they struggle to get into the sweet spot of their engine (and some would even drop down a gear). That hill is surprisingly long and steep from what I can tell, and having good speed up there would wipe far more off your time than the bit of extra speed at the end of the straight, or any time lost by making the corner longer.
All of the smoothest drivers would start wide and try to form a better arc, and you could hear that their rpm was higher as they went up the hill.
1969 Beetle - June
1974 L Bug - Gwendolyn
2002 Bora V6 4Motion - Anita
I wish I had a chance to watch Daniel Reynolds in the vee; he msut of had the best line (please note what greg said though) but he set a 1:08 in a vee so that pretty darn thrifty
what kink are u taking about hold it flat till car drifts to left hand side of track hard on brakes turn right head for apex and squeeze the throttle and drift right out to the ripple strip Caution some testical fortitude required Cheers Rudi
Craig Torrens6 times Australian, 7 times State Hillclimb Class Champion
amazeer wrote:In your videos craig, both cars are still moving left at the point where they turn right. Since you're making that corner longer its got to be costing you time going up the hill?
Re the corner, It may technically be longer but the corner speed is a lot higher on the wider arc....so it actually makes you quicker up the hill.
amazeer wrote:In your videos craig, both cars are still moving left at the point where they turn right. Since you're making that corner longer its got to be costing you time going up the hill?
Re the corner, It may technically be longer but the corner speed is a lot higher on the wider arc....so it actually makes you quicker up the hill.
I'm with Craig on this one, taking that line definatley aids getting up the hill I really notice if I don't get the line right my 3rd gear just dies, where as getting a good run through using the 'wider arc' keeps my revs up and my motor in it's "power" band much better than the other lines.
I come from the far left, in towards the ripple strip and then shift down to 3rd touch the brakes, turn and then power on in a pseudo drift around and up the hill.
I'll find a video from Sept last year when I was there with the historics.
Alright, I'll disagree just one more time, and only because its one of the most important corners of the track.... if you were to look at that corner in isolation theres no way you would be moving left just before you turned right. You would go to the far left way before then. I dont see why you treat the corner differently because there is a kink 200ish metres before it.
I'm not so convinced that it would make much of a difference either way but in theory I reckon I'm right 🤓 But then not too many driving instructors would teach the Craig Lowndes approach to every corner and he seems to make enough money from his unique methods. I'll have to keep some money spare next year for a licence to put my theory to work.
