LOR Trackguide Nuerburgring Schwalbenschwanz
Contents
First Corner (Up-hill, left hander)
- Entrance speed: approximately 95 mph [153 kph]
- Speed through the corner: approximately 60 mph [97 kph]
- Arrival time at the corner: 6 minutes 47.40 seconds
- Time to negotiate the corner: 3.90 seconds
- Exit time of the corner: 6 minutes 51.30 seconds
Let the hill do most of the work for you here. It should slow you down and push you into the apex. You'll be in second gear under full acceleration as you approach the turn. Bring the car over towards the right side of the track.
Use the racing groove as your guide, and when it darkens brake hard for a moment and then ease off the brakes. The hill should do the rest for you. After braking maintain a trailing throttle. Just enough to keep the car balanced, but still slowing down.
You'll start to turn in gradually after braking. As you get closer to the top of the hill start to increase the amount of streering until you are at full lock as you crest the hill. This should see you apexing just past the middle of the turn. If you hit the apex too early you'll go wide on the exit. After the apex add a little power to try and maintain a constant speed. The car will go right out to the edge of the track quite quickly as it actually continues to curve to the left a bit after the main turn. Wait until reaching the edge before adding too much more power. Once there straighten out the wheel and get back to full power.
Second Corner (Left hander - small Karussell)
- Entrance speed: approximately 108 mph [174 kph]
- Speed through the corner: approximately 65 mph [105 kph]
- Arrival time at the corner: 6 minutes 53.74 seconds
- Time to negotiate the corner: 5.82 seconds
- Exit time of the corner: 6 minutes 59.56 seconds
Even though this turn has a slight uphill entrance and is banked you still need to use a lot of braking to get the car slowed down before you reach the banking. The banking is less severe than the karussell and just barely wide enough for one car. As you can't feel what the car is doing it's very easy to slide a little and end up off the banking. This isn't terrible, as it will only cost you a second or so, but you can spin as a result, costing you much more than a second.
You'll probably still be in second gear as you come into the braking zone. If not, you'll want to downshift before reaching the banking. There is a section of the racing groove which is quite a bit darker than the rest, just after the track begins to climb uphill, which is a great braking reference point. Once there brake hard for a moment. You'll start to turn into the corner gradually almost immediately after braking, so ease off the brakes a little to allow the front wheels to grip properly. Continue to brake, progressively less and less, until you have entered the banking. Then release the brakes completely, making a smooth transition to a steady throttle.
The track flattens out right as you enter the banking from the outside. Make sure you don't ride up on the grass as you go round the turn. As the track slowly climbs uphill throughout the rest of the turn you need to add a little power to maintain your speed. However, this is tricky, as too much power will spin you off the banking.
As the banking ends start to add some more power and let the car drift out to the right, crossing the right hand corner of the banking as you leave it. The track continues to turn to the left, making full acceleration difficult, but not impossible. If you feel your rear wheels starting to spin, ease off a little. Don't let the car go too far to the right on the exit or you'll run onto the grass as the track curves to the left. This turn doesn't really end until you are going down the hill just after the left hand bend straightens out. At this point you should be able to get up to third gear and back to full acceleration.
Third Corner (Up-hill, right hander)
- Entrance speed: approximately 128 mph [206 kph]
- Speed through the corner: approximately 80 mph [129 kph]
- Arrival time at the corner: 7 minutes 3.26 seconds
- Time to negotiate the corner: 3.04 seconds
- Exit time of the corner: 7 minutes 6.30 seconds
This corner is like several of the turns at the Ring in that you don't want to brake too much. Let the hill do most of the work for you. The exit is also quite important. You want a smooth, flowing exit that lets you drift out to the left under slight acceleration. If you are messy you'll have a slow entry into the following right hander which will kill you speed down the following straight. So if you are getting a messy exit here, take the corner slightly slower, as the following turn is much more important.
You'll be up to third gear as you come into this turn. As the racing groove darkens, brake gently and downshift to second gear. Release the brakes after a moment of braking; about half way up the hill. You are aiming for a late apex, so turn in just before reaching the top of the hill. Keep a steady throttle on as you come into the apex. Then once there start to ever-so-slightly add some power. Continue to add more power as you carefully slide out to the left. From this point on you should be in a constant arc all the way onto the following straight. Let the car go out to the edge of the track, but make sure you do not touch the grass. Then gently bring the car back towards the middle of the track.
Fourth Corner (Right hander)
- Entrance speed: approximately 97 mph [156 kph]
- Speed through the corner: approximately 100* mph [161* kph]
- Arrival time at the corner: 7 minutes 7.92 seconds
- Time to negotiate the corner: 5.26 seconds
- Exit time of the corner: 7 minutes 13.18 seconds
(*This is the average speed through the turn before you start accelerating.)
Obviously this corner is all about exit speed. You have the very long back straight coming up ahead and a slow exit speed, by even 1 mph, will cost you a lot of time. This straight also presents the third real overtaking opportunity. If you can exit fairly close to another car then you'll have quite a while to draft right up behind them and get by before the bridge. Again, exit speed is all important here.
You'll be in second gear under medium acceleration as you leave the previous turn. You never really get going in a straight line between these two turns. They just flow together in a single arc. Use the crest of the hill as a reference point to upshift to third gear and to begin getting on the power seriously. As you start down the hill you should be near the left side of the track.
Begin adding more power. It's a fine balance, but you can get the car sliding round the turn while it is still accelerating by adding enough power. The downward slope of the track will help you achieve this. However, add too much power and you start spinning out, too little and you understeer off the track. You won't get it perfect every lap, but keep trying to. Get the car to slide just a little as you continue to accelerate. This will allow you to turn the wheel as little as possible, getting the maximum acceleration onto the straight.
You'll be taking a late apex to make sure that you don't go wide on the exit, which would be disastrous Once at the apex if you have to lift at all then you're going to be an easy target for chasing cars to pass. Just before the white line on the right ends, start to leave the edge of the track. You'll get to the left side of the track about the same time you pass the Dottinger-Hohe sign on the right. Just keep it floored and then gradually bring the car back towards the middle of the track.
