Laguna Seca in the RT2000
Here is a hot lap for you to enjoy:
Exiting turn eleven on to the front straight, in first gear, you track out on
the rumble strips to the right
with your right foot flat. Fifty-eight hundred RPM comes up quickly and you
pull back on the shifter for
second then momentarily releasing the shift to allow it to re-center. RPMs only
drop about five hundred
with the close ratio transmission, so it's time to shift in an instant. POP,
to third. Aim for the "Z" of
the MAZDA bridge. POP, to fourth as you reach start/finish. You're climbing but
dont realize it as the car
is still rapidly accelerating, but you see the top of the hill and look for the
telephone polls appearing over
the horizon. Aim for the second one to line you up for turn one, which is not
really a turn, only a slight
bend to the left in the front straight. POP, fifth gear as you crest the hill,
still accelerating quickly on
the downhill toward the turn-in for turn two, the Andretti hairpin, a double
apex slow turn to the left.
Fighting the tendancy to lift at turn in, you slowly and smoothly make the
slight steering change toward
the apex. Halfway from turn-in to the apex you lift and brake HARD! POP, POP,
POP down three gears
starting to ease off the brake, trail braking two-thirds of the way to the
second apex, maintaining some
throttle. As you near the apex, looking down track, begin rolling on the
throttle quickly as you track out
at the far end of the rumble strips on drivers right, maintaining the same
steering angle to continue the
arc to the left side of the track for turn three. POP, up a gear to third.
Turn three is slightly more than
ninety degrees, so turn in and apex are a bit late. Brake hard and quicky just
prior to turn in, then back
on the power to plant the car as you apex on the curbing, looking down track
toward turn four, another
right hander. You will use all the rumble strip on the left at trackout as
you're accelerating hard toward
turn four. POP, up another gear at the bridge, lift a bit to transfer just a
bit of weight forward just prior
to turn in, then roll on the power quickly. Turn four is only about a sixty
degree turn, so full power comes
quickly and, again, you use every bit of the rumble strips at track out. RPM's
are climbing toward the
rev-limiter (6300) as you gradually move to the right for turn five, a fast,
on-camber left hander. This is
an excellent place to pass, so you check your (tiny) mirrors for traffic. You
may bounce off the rev-
limiter as you pass under the bridge, but turn-in is coming up so you continue.
Brake at the "2" marker,
POP, down to third, turn in and roll on the throttle. This is a classic corner
so you apex mid-corner as
you-re coming to full throttle. The banking catches you at track-out, so you
can carry more speed here
than you think. It is imperative to get on the power early as you are beginning
the long climb up to the
corkscrew with only the high-speed turn six bend in between. POP, up another
gear to fourth, staying to
the right edge of the track. At the bridge, brake early before the crest, as
there is a slight depression
just prior to turn in. Get your braking done quicky, then allow the car to
settle before turn-in. The car
will compress here, allowing more speed than you think. Start rolling on the
power, then apex on the left
curbing with full throttle following quickly. Track out three-quartes up the
rumble strip on the right and
maintain a smooth arc to the left, careful not to scrub speed as the hill gets
steeper. At the first crest
you shold be on the curbing to the far left, still in fourth with full throttle.
This is turn seven, but not
much of a turn, only a bend to the right to set you up for turns 8 and 8A. Now
you can see the final crest
and you aim for the far right. You want to lift, but don't. If you got turn
seven right, you are parallel to
the right edge of the track over the crest. You're still full throttle, but now
you can see enough of the
track to make turn eight. Now you can brake HARD! POP, POP, down two gears and
turn left smoothly
and quickly, aiming for the third tree ahead and to the right. A proper turn
will cause an apex on the
curbing to the left then the track falls away. Maintain a steady, partial
throttle and wait.....until the car
contacts the asphalt about twenty feet lower. The tree is still directly ahead,
and as the suspnsion
begins to compress, you feed on the power and begin a gradual turn to the right.
The car feels like it has
gained another fifty horsepower and you see the late, late turn in for turn nine
down the hill. As soon as
you begin to straighten the wheel, POP, up to third, POP, shortshift to fourth
to settle the car before
turn-in for nine. Feather the throttle as necessary to help turn the car toward
the turn nine apex even
further down the hill, then roll on the power, tracking out to the right on the
rumble strips, almost in the
gravel trap! Gradually move to the far left for turn ten. You are still
descending! Turn ten is a very fast,
banked, right-hand sweeper, taken in fourth gear. Brake a bit early, then back
on the power, looking past
the apex on the right to the track-out at the bottom of the hill (finally!).
One more turn to go, turn
eleven is the slowest part of the track, and the most important because it leads
to the long front
straight. Move to the right after turn ten and line up parallel to the right
edge of the track. This is
another great passing zone under braking, so watch for traffic. Brake early and
HARD at the #3 marker,
POP, POP, POP down to first, turn toward the apex on the left and....do it all
over again! ::Flag::
