Five miles of Thunderhill
 

Wow, that was epic. Really tough to learn all that, but so much fun. Enjoy!

Mistake 1: Mistake 2: An (almost) clean lap:

That was really cool, :) thanks for sharing!

That's a lot of track to remember :lol2:

I want to make it out there in the next couple of years.

Let me know if you are ever in the area. Lots of fun tracks around here now :)

And yes, it was a lot of track. I think I need several days more there to get it dialed in as well as I had Laguna Seca at the end of last year.

I will definitely get in contact with you before I come down there.

what you did with racerender is awesome.

Thanks :)
It helps me improve as well as I can see more of what I am doing than just the video alone. E.g. The geforce meter is really useful to see how close I am to the limit and how well I am trail braking (using the full circle of traction).

;)

Unscripted lap guide of the new 5 mile layout at Thunderhill targeted primarily at intermediate drivers, but also helpful for beginner and more advanced drivers.

This guide is intended help you think about how to drive this track. Nothing here should be taken as an absolute. Every car, and every day at the track is different so drive to the speed of your & your car's ability on the day.

Follow along using the track map here: http://thunderhill.com/staticpages/i...?page=TrackMap

@0:17 T1 - Don't trail brake until you are comfortable with your car here!
@0:46 T2 - To explain the finding apex slightly better - once I pick out the exit berm I bring the car in to apex as I drive the path towards it.
@1:30 T3
@1:49 T4
@2:08 T5
@2:22 T6
@2:40 T7 - I only have 183hp at the wheels. Do lift if you are not sure you can make it at full throttle. Those of you driving a Lotus 49 might want to brake here.
@2:50 T8 - I was not very clear here - as you turn in you can aim for the very start of the berm to apex there. As soon as you have turned in, pick your eyes up to the exit.
@3:08 - start of the new part of track and some words on braking for 9C
@3:32 - 9C
@4:32 - Exit of 2W - Change in surface gradient.
@4:53 - 3W
@5:49 - 4W. Starting wider and a single later apex might be a valid approach here.
@6:40 - 5W
@7:28 - 6W. Wide entry is probably a valid alternative and might be an easier and safer way to go quick.
@8:00 - 7W
@9:00 - 8W
@9:10 - 9W - careful trail braking at first!
@9:40 - 10W - think about that traction circle.
@10:40 - 1W
@11:22 - 1W start of right hand part of turn. "Early apex" - I meant 1st (next) apex from here. There is a 2nd one before you start up the hill and then a 3rd on the hill. Try to make a smooth arc across all 3 of these. Slightly tighter at first will allow you to accelerate a little after the 1st and then really pick up the power at the 2nd apex to go up the hill.
@11:45 - 10C. Also try relaxing your grip on the wheel if the car is loose under braking.
@12:23 - 10E. As the new track gets rubbered in, it might actually end up gripper than the old track, so be careful about that!
@13:16 - 11E
@13:30 - 14E. Use the bridge to line up on the left. The left edge is not quite straight as you go over the crest and I am not quite all the way over. The reason the rear steps out on me here is that I turn in slightly early and then find myself at the apex a couple of feet early. I lift as I try to keep the car tight to the correct apex, but the car rotates a little more than I wanted. Fortunately there is a bit of extra run off for me to use there as I run wide.
@13:53 - uninterrupted lap run through

Additional notes:

The car I am driving has ~185hp at the wheels and weighs ~3000lbs with me in it. It has a set of 255/40/17 Direzza Z2 tires with suspension and alignment modified for track use. This means that if you have not modified your car for the track, you likely have less grip than me and if you are driving any kind of sports car that is not a Mazda you have more power. In both cases, you will most likely need to brake earlier than me.

Trial braking means to continue braking while turning in to a corner. Be careful doing this! Start out by making sure you are off the brake before turning, and then slowly start to overlap brake and turning to find the limit. This takes a lot of practice to do well and I am still not there in many places. Braking too much, or simply coasting (i.e. off throttle) while turning, will make the car want to oversteer into a spin. See my last corner for an example of off throttle oversteer.

Only 1 tire and 2 sections of dirt were harmed during the making of this video (see my other videos for when I went off track before getting this lap together).