Mike Kojima posted on February 28, 2011 00:20
Turn 5 (Nameless)
Turn 5 is a pretty busy section of the track and is one of the most important corners because it leads down the long straight to T8. Like T3, this turn has two forms of compression that increase grip: a little on-camber banking and elevation change from downhill to flat.
While accelerating downhill from T4, there is a kink to the right at the entry to T5. Be on the left side of the road with a late turn-in for this kink. Make sure the car is straight, stable, and not loaded up on the left side when you go to brakes. It is important to get the car slowed down for a good exit. The exit is far more important than a fast entry.
In a lower powered car, it is important to maintain a high mid-corner speed through T5. Make the radius of the corner as large as possible by tracking-out earlier and following the outside edge of the track up to T6. In higher powered cars, it’s more important to get the car pointed straight as soon as possible to put the power down more effectively. This is best accomplished with slightly more entry speed and a tighter line through the corner, off throttle, to get the car turned. Once the car is rotated, straighten the wheel and the car will hook up much better.
Turn 6 (Monroe Ridge)
This corner is blind and has a ‘crest’ at the apex where cars get light, but should be flat in most cars. Lower powered cars will be further to the right of the road entering the corner, making T6 a much sharper corner than higher powered cars that kept a tighter line through T5 and have a straighter shot to T6. It is important to emphasize a later apex in this corner to not run out of room at the exit. If you turned in too early and are going to drop tires on exit, don’t try to jerk the steering wheel to get the car back on the track or lift off the throttle which can cause a hook-spin. If you are going off, straighten the wheel and slowly ease the car back on the track. Dropping tires is not the end of the world and probably won’t hurt your car, but if you panic and are aggressive with your inputs, it could in a much bigger way.
Turn 7 (Wing’s Leg/”The Kink”)
This is not much of a corner but rather a slight bend in the track. Stay to the left side of the road from the exit of T6, through T7, to the entry of T8.
Turn 8 (The Sweeper)
Turn 8 is a very fast corner with entry speeds in excess of 150mph and apex speeds of over 140mph. While fast with almost no banking, this corner is full throttle on entry in any car. The long apex of T8 has a series of bumps that can be very unsettling, and with no reference points, it can be very intimidating corner.
Turn-in early to get to the right side of the road under full throttle and depending on the car, balance, and grip, ease out of the throttle as much as necessary to keep the car on the right side of the road. In lower powered cars, this turn is flat. Since there are no reference points, it’s important to hug the right side of the road. The road straightens briefly between T8 and T9 and this is my reference point to track out to the left side of the road to set up for T9.
