Where should the straight be?

[Northy]

Should it be next to the rostrum or the opposite side of the track?

And why?

G

[ashleyb4]

In the middle of the track.

A

[sosidge]

Fundamentally it is about sighting the track.

Usually I would say the straight should be at the far end. Partly because there should be no obstacles to negotiate on it therefore does not need to be close by. Partly because it is the fastest part of the track and you want to be able to see all of it in case there is a crash. Partly for comfort, have you ever raced on a track with the straight right in front of the rostrum and got a sore neck from whipping it left to right all through the race?

[Chris Doughty]

there should be a 3rd option for does not matter...

I think the layout of the rest of the track determins where the straight should be,

if its a very technical track then the straight should be at the back.

if the straight has difficult entry and/or exit then it should be near the front.

[ashleyb4]

Originally Posted by sosidge

whipping it left to right all through the race?

Im generally concentrating on racing not other things.

A

[Lee]

Far side for me, there is no need for it to be under the rostrum, i think this should be where tight corners and other tricky obsticles should be.

As long as the straight does not narrow at the end then all is well and it will be just as easy to judge a corner at the end of it as it would a regular corner.

I would of liked the rostrum at taly to be on the other side so we could of seen the technical section easier. (im sure they had their reasons for putting it where they did though)

[strobe]

Would it be possible to have the main straight going Diagonally across the track. Just a thought.
I prefer to have the main straight in front of rostrum.

[Wraggy]

im the same as Chris here, if its a technical track then have the straight at the back as long as the entry and exit's are not to difficult to read ..

[GRIFF55]

I'd say (for me) it makes no difference as i'd most probably crash on either. Oswestry layout was different with the straight angled to the rostrum.

[James]

I dont really mind .. but im quicker over obstacles i can see better ! so i better say straight away from rostrum like worksoop indoors.

Dont generally like straights on an angle but oswestrys was ok

[Kopite]

the Marston 4wd regional had a slightly angled straight in the centre of the track.

i'd have the straight at the back cos i can't see very far, and really struggle judging corners from a distance (my excuse for crashing anyway).

do we actually have to have a straight? (not the question you were asking Northy, but i'm just wondering)

[Chris Doughty]

personally, here is how I think tracks work best.

straight along the back, fairly sweeping entry and exit to the straight, not corners that are critical to making a good lap.

technical 'corner' sections in the centre of the track and close to the drivers stand, placing the car on tight lines is hard to do at a distance, keep it close to the drivers stand.

hairpins where you drive away from yourself at a distance then turn in and back on yourself are never good to race on.

technical 'jump' sections can be in the middle or even towards the outsides of the track, the technical thing with jumps is speed regulation so you don't need to be as close to these features compared to if you were trying to pin-point a hairpin.

all corners should be 'rideable' like the perminant tracks, the cone bottoms at Ozfest were a very welcome feature on that kind of track.

landing ramps 2x lenght of the take-off ramp and ~1/2 the angle of the take-off.

low/shallow distance jumps are fun! and easier to race closely on.

having a jump at the very start of a straight might make the corner preceeding it less important, which would be a good thing if its far away from the drivers stand.

anything else?

[ashleyb4]

stan you have to have a straight to start the finals on.

A

[Wraggy]

Originally Posted by Kopite

the Marston 4wd regional had a slightly angled straight in the centre of the track.

Stan that was no straight !!! barely got going before you hit the corner ..

[josh_smaxx]

I prefer it far side, mainly because i feel i get a bigger perspective vision of it so i can see any obsticles on it like a car on its roof ect.

[GRIFF55]

Originally Posted by Wraggy

Stan that was no straight !!! barely got going before you hit the corner ..

your car does that on every straight doesn't it mate

[telboy]

I don't mind where it is really, as long as there is no one stnding next to me for 2 mins leaning forwards, blocking my veiw of 20% of the track whilst trying to explain to the marshal to remove his transponder.....like I had at Talywain.......and not paying any attention to anything i'm saying to him.

As long as I can see the track I'm not bothered.
The straight is ok in front of the rostrum, providing it is a good distance away from the rostrum and you can see each end without having to lean around people to see. But then you could say the same about it being the other way round too. As long as it is designed properly and you can see all round then its ok.

[GPS1]

Once the new track at Silverstone is finished and we have moved/built the rostrum, the main straight will run to the right hand side! So you'll watch your car run away from you down the straight into a fast banked corner. We did this so that all the technical sections of the track are positioned running back towards the drivers and are easier to see and judge!

[bender]

I've found that having the straight on the far side of the track can be an absolute disaster in terms of accidents

A 3 metre wide straight may only look 1 metre wide or less when far away, and this severly distorts the positions of cars running side by side or close together. I've seen many a huge accident when guys were rammed from behind due to misjudging the proximity of their car relative to another.

Obviously, the issue is still the same if there are corners that are far away, but the primary difference is that any accidents will occur at much lower speeds

[Northy]

Thought I'd dig this back up to see if people have changed thier minds?

It's interesting that a lot of the UK's permanant tracks that people seem to rate have the straight under the rostrum:

Southport,
Stotfold,
Batley,
Kiddy,
Bury,

Where as a lot of people thought EPR was a great track, and a lot of the NE regionals have had the straight at the far side and have been good tracks.

Discuss and vote away guys

G