[Blade400]

Well done Jim. Can anyone stop him getting all the fastest laps in the short lifespan of my track?

If I don't start winning soon I'm taking my track home!

Just out of curiosty I've done a 'quick and dirty' analysis of the best lap times in the heats to see how 'even' the lanes are. I've done the same (hope you don't mind Mike) for the old Presto track and (hope you don't mind Ken/Andy/John) the NSR track.

The sampling was 2 weeks of results from mine and Presto's (GT Pro 07/27/2011 and Britcar) track, and one week's worth (Sports GT 01/08/2011) from NSR.

My track returned

Red Lane (outer) = 22% of best lap times in heats
Yellow Lane (inner) = 31%
Green Lane (inner) = 33%
Blue Lane (outer) = 14%

Old Presto

Red Lane (outer) = 12% of best lap times in heats
Blue Lane (inner) = 65%
Green Lane (inner) = 23%
Yellow Lane (outer) = 0% !

NSR

Blue Lane (outer) = 27% of best lap times in heats
Yellow Lane (inner) = 55%
Red Lane (inner) = 18%
Green Lane (outer) = 0% !

I guess with my little (60'!) track there's less scope for 'bad' lanes and with no really tight corners on any lanes it also smooths out the results.

I suppose one conclusion to be drawn is that even if the lanes are all the same length that does not, in itself, mean that all lanes will offer the same opportunity.

Maybe Mike and Jim could cast a final look over the new track design before setting it in stone (MDF?) to try and identify any possible points on the new track design which could cause a 'bad lane'. Not sure how to identify these but hopefully their combined experience can.

 

[Blade400]

Ken, I have to differ on your 'way slower' comment. I'm not suggesting that it's possible to make all lanes equal - yes, it's inevitable that the 2 inside lanes will generally be better than the 2 outside lanes - but if a small change to the initial design could mean an improvement on 0% then that has to be better for the evening's racing, if only to stop Race Control announcing the 'lucky' lane!

Also, I'm not advocating the use of 'shortcuts' to even up lanes. That shouldn't be necessary.

Even if all the lanes were equal you'd still get variation in the lane 'performance' as individual lane characteristics suit different driving styles e.g. Roger in Red Lane at Presto and Andy GH in Blue Lane at NSR.

P.S. Thanks for the positive reply. After posting my comments I was a bit concerned that it might seem like criticism of the tracks - which it wasn't.

P.P.S I know I'm no longer a regular at your track, but for what it's worth, I think Green Lane loses most time to the other lanes in the tight right and 2 tight lefts (compared to the other lanes) in the overhead section after the Race Control corner.