Turn by turn guide to the Grattan Raceway track

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If you know this track then please try to start this guide. Once, someone starts then other readers should refine it to make the descriptions better. But, someone has to be first. Just click the edit button on the top of the page or the right and go.

Contents

Track Map

Image:Grattan.gif

Turn 1

After the long straight at Grattan, you may be doing between 100 and 130mph, so learn your braking point. This is important to get turn 1 right. It is about 120 degrees to the right, but very wide, and the road starts to climb uphill slightly halfway through the turn, so you get a lot of grip at this point. Make sure to use the extra grip the elevation change gives you to accelerate hard out of the corner. Also, the straightaway is very wide, so you can carry a lot of speed through this turn even though it is about 120 degrees. There is a big sand trap at the end of the straight in case you have brake fade, or if you run the corner wide, there's lots of grass.

Turn 2

Blind corner! and also about a 120 degree right hander, so again learn your braking point because I find this is the easiest corner to run wide on and get right. You need to brake befor you see the turn, and turn in just after you see it. I take this corner by apexing in the middle and runing right to the egde of the track, but then I keep turning with about the same steering angle to get to the other side of the track to set up for turn 3. By the time you get to the right hand side of the track it it time to get to car turning in the other direction. Small, light cars can take turn 2, 3, 4 very well I find.

Turn 3

If you've come out of turn 2 correctly, you are on the very right most part of the track ready to enter turn 3 which is a 160deg downhill, off camber left hand turn! Give your self a few extra feet to brake, you don't want to miss the apex of this turn. Since accelerating out of this turn is difficult, I Apex it slightly late, with very light throttle the keep my car rotating, and I put the car 3/4 wide to the right side of the track before get back on the throttle and try to get the car back to the left side ready for turn 4 and the small back straight.

Turn 4

Ok, you're climbing in elevation again here. Get your car on the left side of the track ASAP, ready for the right hand 90 turn. Apex the corner, and get on the throttle early!!! Your now heading downhill again. Hit the extra 2 feet of pavement on the left side of the track with your wheels, and get back over. If you don't, you didn't get on the throttle early enough, and you didn't need the extra room. Use all the road you can here!!! Now get ready for your heart to drop as you go over "the jump". This is fun!

Turn 5

Blind corner! You need to start braking right about at the top of the jump. This will seem very scarry at first, so you might want to start braking 1/2 way up the jump to get a hold of it. Actually I recomend it because your car may be different then mine. But many people lose time here because they brake too early because of fear. So as your cresting the jump on the left side of the track, with the brakes on, you will notice you have almost no braking since the car has no weight on the wheels. You think you won't make the turn, but suddenly, the car regains it's weight (and more) after the jump, and you can stop faster than any other portion of the track. So be sure to be on the left side of the track here, any apex the right hand turn 5 looking ahead because you have just entered the S's. Coming out of 5 depends on your car, RWD vettes have had success pointing the car staight at 6, while Fwd cars have had success getting over to the right more, and getting a better angle at 6 to set up 7

Turn 6

Key here, is get up on the curb! Apex the left hand turn as tight as possible. Streightest line is fastest! This is the 2nd turn in the S's

Turn 7

Last turn of the S's. Again, get up on the curb for the right hander, and run it wide to the left, and carry speed realizing you'll need to get right back over to the right to set up the toilet bowl (turn 8). Get all the way right, there is a curb there too. I like to get my right wheels on it.

Turn 8

When your right wheels are on the curb just before turn 8, it's time to turn in. Apex late, and start accelerating. This is a banked turn, so it's fun fast, and controlable.

Turn 9

The roughding... A long right hand sweeper, that starts off uphill with a lot of traction, and at the apex, it starts going downhill and over steering 3/4 the way through is easily possible. There's also not too much runoff, and if it's wet, I can see trouble occuring. Although I've seen many cars spin here, I havn't seen an incident yet... Toward the end of the turn you'll need to start braking, so you're turning right and braking at the same time here.

Turn 10

This turn can be very dificult! I would approach the braking to this turn as straight as possible. It is easy to be in the braking zone while still turning right slightly causing oversteer before the turn. Once approaching the 110-115degree turn 10 straight, try and apex this turn late because it increases in radius quickly so you need to power out of the corner straighter to avoid getting off the throttle to complete the entire turn. Front wheel drive cars will need to apex it later than Rwd drive car because of their natural tendency to push under power. If you are driving a RWD car, you can get on the throttle hard and continue to make the bend after turn 10. But in both cars make sure the kink in the road just after 10 does not make you get off the throttle or you will lose time here easy.

Turn 11

Great turn. Totally blind. you approach the turn going uphill from the left side of the track, and need to make a 45 deg right hand turn as you are climbing up the hill. You will see that there are two mark on the road about 3/4 of the way up the hill on the left side. Turn in right in the middle of these marks. Also, watch out for snap oversteer as you are turning right just after the apex and cresting the hill. Once over the hill you will loose some weight from inertia and oversteer can send you quickly into the gravel pit.

Turn 12

Full throttle. Don't lift. (most cars) The straightaway is plenty wide, so use it all, and keep in the throttle (weather permiting). This increasing radius turn is very wide and open, and leads you back to the start/finish line. Open up the motor and power down the long straight at Grattan! Remember to smile because this is where most people will take pictures of you as you come out of the last turn!