Time for a turn-by-turn lap of Circuit du Grand Rocher:
After the start line and the longest straight on the track, cars are headed into Turn 1.
Turn 1 has a "break" in it and if you brake too late, you will lose the rear easily. It's important to get the braking zone just right to just put the car in the right line for the next short straight (with a full-speed curve in it). The outside lane can have an advantage here because the "break" is less pronounced.
Turn 2 looks easier on the picture than it really is. Inside lanes are tight and you have to slow down a lot to get through. Outside lane has it easier but doesn't have a lot of sliding room and can hit the tire barrier easily. With some cars, it's not a problem; with some, it can spell trouble.
Turn 3 is a high-speed corner where the outside lanes can gain a lot of time on the inside lanes. The blue lane (outside) can almost take it at full speed, by being careful to not hit the barrier at the exit.
Sector 4
looks easy but
it's not. There are some kinks in the slots. First, a slight left and then a large-radius right/left, with just a little kink to destabilize unstable (!) cars. Cars that are well balanced can go through there without moving too much. Unstable cars will probably deslot (often from the front) if they don't slow down.
Turn 5 is a decreasing-radius corner. Inside lanes, especially the red one, must get their braking just right to not lose a lot of time in there, just before going under the bridge. Very easy to lose the rear end in red and yellow lanes.
Sector 6, coming out of the dark, is really fun to drive. If the car has a stable rear end, the driving sensation is great. If not, watch out for Turn 7, where your car will still be trying to get back in line.
Turn 7 is a slightly-increasing-radius corner. Fairly easy to drive in the outside lanes, we're seeing a lot of offs in the inside lanes.
Coming out of Turn 7, we're going into Sector 8. On the exit of Turn 7, the cars have to negotiate a slight left turn, a very short straight and then a sligth right turn (impossible to go through there at full throttle, even if it looks that way).
Between Sector 8 and Turn 9, you can get some speed out of the car over the bridge and then brake a little to negociate Turns 9 and 10. They can't be taken at full speed but depending on the cars, it can be pretty close to it. The two turns are connected by a very very short straight but they can be seen as one big sweeping turn.
And then, it's pretty easy to overshoot the exit of Turn 10, lose the rear end and go into the pits (it happens all the time!) from the inside lanes or go into the barrier for the outside lanes.
That's it for a lap of Circuit du Grand Rocher...
CanAm 2012 - Round 6 - Québec, QC
so your cars are in good hands!
Great news
track, I bet it's a blast to drive!
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