First of all, this track is way the hell out there. We exited the PA Turnpike a mere 12 miles from Ohio, that's like the middle of nowhere. Below is my review of the track.

<U>Location</U>
Like I said, it's way the hell out there. It's exit 2 off of the PA Turnpike, which is about 2-2.5 hours travel time from where Route 70 meets the Turnpike. It took me just over 4 hours from Fairfax and just over 3.5 to get back to Leesburg. I was seriously cruising with the radar detector on so that 3.5 may be a little quick for the average person towing a trailer. There were trailers that left at least 30 minutes before me that I passed on my way home. The mountains make for slow going if you're towing a car. I imagine it will be much like going to VIR for people in northern VA.

<u>Facilities</u>
Since the track was JUST completed, the facilities left a lot to be desired. There was no electricity and no hot water but that stuff is coming soon. There were 3 buildings that consisted of either double-wide or double-tall trailers and that turned out to be detrimental to my health since it was about 50° and pouring down rain all day Saturday. With some work in the off season this track will at least be equivalent to Summit. There were NO tirewalls when we were there, just armco. Something they're fixing in the near future.

<U>Track</U>
Obviously the track is new so it was beautifully paved. It's only 1.5 miles long and it's a VERY fast track. Fast 944 lap time for the weekend in about 50° weather was 1:09. I think the Honda Challenege cars do relatively similar times on all other courses as the Cup cars so it's probably a decent gauge. Think Jefferson with more straights and "kinks". Elevation change didn't seem to be a big deal going into it but it's actually a key factor in how you handle your car. Think braking zone before the corkscrew at VIR. You know there's a hill coming and you know you can stop but that doesn't make it any less intimidating. The elevation changes at BeaveRun were all done at a higher speed but they do really toss your car about. The back straight consists of 2 HIGH SPEED kinks similar to that of CMP. For reference sake, by the end of the weekend I was taking the first kink (a lefty) flat out in 4th and the second kink (a righty) flat out in 5th. This one is a little harder to muster the courage for because after that you're braking hard for a sharp double-apex right hander onto the front straight. In retrospect, this was the key corner because not only were most mistakes make here but it also set you up for the only REAL passing zone on the track. Passes could be had in other locations but with cars so closely rated us 944s couldn't pick each other off easily. The rest of the track consists of several higher speed lefts and right between the front straight and back straight. The carolina curbing they have in place is VERY easy on the car should you feel the need to use it expand the track. In fact, I fully recommend using it at every opportunity. The stuff is absolutely amazing.

I imagine as the track ages it's going to get a little slower because oil and whatnot will be leaked onto the track. For those lower horsepower, better handling cars like the 944 Cup and ECHC, the track resembles that of a karter. All in all, it was a blast to run on. As far as the Cup in concerned, it made for some of the closest and most exciting racing we've had to date. We fiedled 17 cars and EVERYONE had someone close to their car and ability to run with. My most memorable moments from the track are going three wide down the whole front straight DEEP into the braking zone. Each of us kept waiting for the others to let up and it just wouldn't happen. Everyone has to mash on the brakes to get the cars stopped and the track let that happen. I finished that race 3 100ths of a second behind the person in front of me.... or beside me, I should say. The racing was THAT close.

While I'm thinking of it, be sure to ask Alex the KingRat how he liked seriously locking up his tires going into one because he didn't have ABS. Real racers don't need 'em Alex... better luck next time.

 

Good review.

They're still working on the South track, right?

 

It's still trees.

 

I will add my own impressions here:
Saturday was rain, so didnt get a good feel for the track until it dried out on sunday.

First off, its a very fun track. Easy to pick up, but gets very challenging as speeds come up (what track doesnt?)
My favorite part of the track is by far turn 1-5. Just as fun as rollercoaster.

Some of the more difficult parts:
Turn 7 - right hander at the top of a hill leading on to the back straight. , proper turn in is just after the crest of the hill. Every time I went in and turned there the car wanted to swap ends. I ended up turning in a little early with a little less speed and hugged the inside curbing. I left a lot of speed in this corner, but I wanted to drive the car home. I would be interested in how other people took this corner. Definately one to work on.

2nd kink - turn 9. Think of CMP kink with no hump. Practically no run-off room if you screw this up. I went in conservatively each time. again, wanted to drive the car home.

Turn 10-11. I just couldnt find a good line. Even going in conservatively to the kink I still had a hard time getting the speed down for 10, so often times I went in hot.
The double apex didnt work too well for me, what I ended up doing was apexing mid track on 10, set the wheel and let it carry me through the rest of the corner. Another one that could use some work.

I ran 1:12s on street tires and I know I left a lot of time out there, so its a pretty quick track.

oh yeah, that pennsylvania turnpike is complete bullshit. I cant believe they charged me $6 to drive on that peice of crap, pothole ridden dumpster alley. I am sure I bent at least one rim on it

Evan

btw- I just got my GF just a BeaveRun thong, looks like she will get a 944 one too!

 

Yeah, you have to wonder where all that toll money goes... and the PA Turnpike has been in a state of disrepair for as long as I can remember (I remember it being that bad over 15 years ago).

Did she like it?

 

I drove it a couple of months ago, the track is a lot of fun. I always favor the tight twisties, like turns 1-5. The two most difficult were turn 7 and 9. By the end of the day I was able to get 7 without lifting but not able to flat foot nine, to be totally honest, for lack of "almonds".


[Modified by 6ghatch, 3:06 PM 10/24/2002]

 

I bought two, count 'em TWO, BeaveRun thongs.

 

i haven't been on the track yet. i've only autocrossed on the skid pad there a few times.

i watched the vette's and the porches run a couple times while i was there as well as the crotch rockets.

when it's done, it should be a pretty nice place.

 

ok, when you say that you have to mention who they are for.....otherwise people may start to wonder.....

 

Hi,
Just adding my two cents...

The track was a blast to run once you got up to speed.. the elevation changes plus a lot of fun corners made it interesting and very fast once you started to push a bit.

Turn 8 (corrected) (the first fast, flat left hander) was pretty easy to take flat out in 4th. Lot's of track plus lot's of run-off room meant high confidence levels - the car just went w/o complaint.

Turn 9 was a different story - definitely an "almond"-check corner for me. It did remind me of the kink at CMP, only that the braking zone is much shorter and the friggin armco runs all the way down the left side of the track. Just wonderful when you have to start braking right after the apex.

I never took 9 flat out, never even close. I started day 2 modulating to about 105mph at turn in. It was a moral victory to get that up to about 110 at turn in and ~115 just pass the apex. On street tires, that meant braking started 50-75 feet pass the apex. Didn't help that I am still trying to sort out the brake-bias in my overbraked car.

The front section of the track (turns 1-5) are just a blast - real front-driver territory - you can really hang it out and turn most of it into one big arc. Made up mucho time on this this section of the track relatively to the higher-hp real wheel drive cars.

I was pretty happy to be running in the 113s/114s by the end of the day.

Only down-side of the weekend is I actually blistered one of my AVS intermediates - a first for me. More details in my post on the topic.

- Phillip

- Phillip


[Modified by ITR_Hybrid, 11:08 PM 10/24/2002]

 

middle of nowhere? It's like, 40 minutes from here. Stay in pittsburgh, wake up a little earlier

i have vid of the track up at http://www.sandmracing.com/videos

haven't updated site yet to reflect this, it's the ones that have BR in the name.

 

I don't know if you've been keeping up with current events but Pittsburgh is in the middle of nowhere.