- LOCATION:
Elkhart Lake, WI
- TYPE: permanent road course
- LENGTH: 4.0 miles
- RACE
DISTANCE: 50 laps
(200 miles)
-
-
- SETUP
NOTES:
Road America, the longest course on the CART circuit, is run
in a clockwise direction. Use less downforce and taller gears
to provide the top speed this track demands; set 6th gear up
on the long uphill front straight. Try to develop a setup that
runs strong while using a turbocharger setting of 6 or 7, to
improve fuel economy. Don't gamble with fuel here - running out
of methanol on the back side of the track will leave you too
far away to coast in. Try to keep your rpms in the 12-13,000
range for the best speeds.
-
- A LAP: Speeding away
from the start/finish line, it's a long straight shot into turn
1, a 3rd-gear right-hander. When you clear the corner, there's
barely enough time to reach 6th gear again before braking for
the next turn. Turn 2 is a tight right-hander that will drop
you into 2nd gear. Wait an extra beat before stepping back on
the gas as you exit so as to avoid spinning off into the grass.
Now get back on the power fully; although the road has a couple
of slight bends, you should easily be able to maintain top speed
until you reach 5. Turn 5 is known as the Morraine Sweep, a 90-degree
left. Brake hard at the markers and quickly bring the car down
to 1st gear, and pace yourself through. After you exit 5, you'll
briefly accelerate to turn 6, where you must again slow and employ
1st gear. When you leave turn 6, shift back up to 3rd and pause
briefly as you round turn 7, a lazy right. Get back on the gas
and shift up to 5th as you dip downhill toward number 8. At the
braking markers, shift down to 2nd and veer to the left through
turn 8. Turns 9 and 10 circle around to the right, forming the
Carousel. This is a long, sweeping corner that is tough to hold.
Let your speed build very gradually through here, until you begin
to drive right between the two large hills. At that point you
can shift all the way back up to 6th and vault through turn 11,
a shallow right. The road will bend to the left before 12, and
you should still be going all out. As you approach 12's braking
markers, shift down to 2nd and brake into the right-hander. As
soon as you're clear, shift back up to 4th and release the gas
briefly as you pass under the turn 13 bridge.
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