MOWOG 7 course analysis

[SalahK]

MOWOG 7 was one of the better course designs in 2002.

One of the factors that separate a mediocre course from a good course is the variety of lines that are possible through each turn. On a good course, the driver has a choice of lines that must be taken in a series of connected corners. This is only possible when the course is wide enough to accommodate multiple lines. Why is this important? Some of the competencies of a good driver are to figure out the correct line through a corner and to figure out where to lose time in order to gain time elsewhere. When the course is too narrow, even the best driver has to make do with the line dictated by the cones and gaining/losing time is not an option.

One of the keys to multiple lines is to avoid unnecessary cones. For example, in MOWOG 7, after the right-hander following the slalom, there were no additional cones until the next right-hander at the southeast corner of the parking lot.

Another highlight of MOWOG 7 was the right-left combination leading to the finish line. This is another key area where the driver was faced with the difficult decision of how much of the penultimate left-hander to give up in order to get a straight shot through the finish line.

Given the space limitation of the stadium parking lot, I would prefer to see a 35-second course with wide, multiple lines than a 50-second course with a single, narrow line.

BTW, who designed the MOWOG 7 course?
:)

[phile]

Originally posted by Salah Khuhro


MOWOG 7 was one of the better course designs in 2002.

One of the factors that separate a mediocre course from a good course is the variety of lines that are possible through each turn. On a good course, the driver has a choice of lines that must be taken in a series of connected corners. This is only possible when the course is wide enough to accommodate multiple lines. Why is this important? Some of the competencies of a good driver are to figure out the correct line through a corner and to figure out where to lose time in order to gain time elsewhere. When the course is too narrow, even the best driver has to make do with the line dictated by the cones and gaining/losing time is not an option.

One of the keys to multiple lines is to avoid unnecessary cones. For example, in MOWOG 7, after the right-hander following the slalom, there were no additional cones until the next right-hander at the southeast corner of the parking lot.

Another highlight of MOWOG 7 was the right-left combination leading to the finish line. This is another key area where the driver was faced with the difficult decision of how much of the penultimate left-hander to give up in order to get a straight shot through the finish line.

Given the space limitation of the stadium parking lot, I would prefer to see a 35-second course with wide, multiple lines than a 50-second course with a single, narrow line.

BTW, who designed the MOWOG 7 course?
:)

The course was designed by Jonathan Grothe. His car was a VW "New Beetle".

The right-hander following the slalom was an open-throttle section for the Lotus. Getting the right line through there to optimise the speed was great fun. I saw many folks who took full advantage of the exit from this and the entry to the next, and many others who gave away a lot by entering the next section right down the middle. Use the whole course!

The start and the series of 180s later-on was seriously painful for the Lotus. Colin Chapman didn't believe in making cars whose front wheels could turn sharply. (He also didn't believe much in Ackerman, actually using reverse Ackerman in race cars for reasons involving slip angles at different loadings.) With the steering approaching lock just to negotiate the corners, choosing of lines was not very possible. The BMW guys were stabbing the power pedal to kick the rear out. That does not work with the Europa: stabbing the power is just a quick ticket to understeering straight off the course.

Phil Ethier

[SalahK]

Originally posted by phile
The start and the series of 180s later-on was seriously painful for the Lotus. Colin Chapman didn't believe in making cars whose front wheels could turn sharply. (He also didn't believe much in Ackerman, actually using reverse Ackerman in race cars for reasons involving slip angles at different loadings.) With the steering approaching lock just to negotiate the corners, choosing of lines was not very possible. The BMW guys were stabbing the power pedal to kick the rear out. That does not work with the Europa: stabbing the power is just a quick ticket to understeering straight off the course.

Phil Ethier

If the Lotus Europa had trouble with the 4 (semi-lock) U-turns in MOWOG 7, then it would have been totally out of it's element in MOWOG 6 which had 7 (full-lock) U-turns!

[Chris Bienert]

Thanks for the insightful review of the course, Salah. It was challenging. I really think I could have negotiated the course faster than I did. For the 180* left-right before the finish, I intentionally apexed late to exit towards the inside of the turn. The idea was to leave myself well positioned to get on the throttle early for the final straight. I'm unsure of how much this helped or hurt me.

The other challenge to the course that caught me until my last run were the shift points. I had been lured into shifting into 2nd in the middle of the long straight after the slalom. Staying in first through the whole course proved 0.5 sec faster for me in my last run of the day.

[applebit]

For me, pulling a 33.8 with the Saturn wasn't about gearing...

it was about being able to get in the right line that I so wanted to get into.

I knew that 2nd gear would do it for my car, I just had to plan just a little bit more ahead, and that is what really helped.

[phile]

Originally posted by Salah Khuhro



Originally posted by phile
The start and the series of 180s later-on was seriously painful for the Lotus. Colin Chapman didn't believe in making cars whose front wheels could turn sharply. (He also didn't believe much in Ackerman, actually using reverse Ackerman in race cars for reasons involving slip angles at different loadings.) With the steering approaching lock just to negotiate the corners, choosing of lines was not very possible. The BMW guys were stabbing the power pedal to kick the rear out. That does not work with the Europa: stabbing the power is just a quick ticket to understeering straight off the course.

Phil Ethier

If the Lotus Europa had trouble with the 4 (semi-lock) U-turns in MOWOG 7, then it would have been totally out of it's element in MOWOG 6 which had 7 (full-lock) U-turns!

It not only would have been, Salah, it was! I was there. If you want to see my car, you do have to look down. :-)

I have not had a chance to compare times on the two events yet, but I believe my M7 times were mediocre, and my M6 times were truly pitiful.

The odd part is that the car handled gloriously at the Lotus Owners Gathering. Totally neutral, breaking softly into four-wheel-drifts in the carrousel and coming back all at once. Ultimate grip was not outstanding on the 1996-vintage tires, but the car was so drive-able that it was good for third car overall.

Maybe with new tires, the magic will work at Midway, too.

Phil Ethier

[chuck b]

i also very much like the ending in that we could drive "through" the finish line instead of some weird ridiculously tight ending that's meant to slow us to a safe speed because the course ends 5 ft from the curb.
i think it's important to attack the course from the very start. i saw many people approach the very first turn (left hander) with hardly any braking. I cranked my brakes as hard as i could before turning in. maybe i do it a bit too much, but it seemed like people lost time there.

i agree with Salah about the excellent course design and the shorter course times that may result. also, Phil nailed it on the head about the fast right hander being critical- i have no idea how the heck i got through there, but it sure was fun! i haven't had a chance to get the car drifting like that in a while.
i found a much better line on the last run and it also was what Phil mentioned with the subsequent tight right hander and setting up a good braking zone. i was subconsiously making the turns either parallel or perpendicular to the lot/streets and drove it that way. the last time through i realized that i could come in and reduce the turn significantly and that was where the car was drifting too anyway from the fast section. i think that all sounds confusing- if only i could draw a picture here.
anyway, everthing else i took tighter than what i thought was necessary. i can't really explain how i set up for the last turn either- i simply did what "felt" right. once again, this course proved perfect for my car as i could leave it in first gear the whole way with the posi pulling me through. sure it banged off the rev limiter at the fast section, but i felt i wouldn't gain enough to justify going to second, knowing that i'd have to heel/toe downshift into first- i simply can't do that under maximum braking that well.
i feel left foot braking worked well too.
my last run i finally remembered to grab second towards the finish line. i'm pretty sure it was my fastest shift in my life- i didn't feel the car's nose drop- it was cool.

[fitz]

Originally posted by Salah Khuhro


MOWOG 7 was one of the better course designs in 2002.

One of the factors that separate a mediocre course from a good course is the variety of lines that are possible through each turn. On a good course, the driver has a choice of lines that must be taken in a series of connected corners. This is only possible when the course is wide enough to accommodate multiple lines. Why is this important? Some of the competencies of a good driver are to figure out the correct line through a corner and to figure out where to lose time in order to gain time elsewhere. When the course is too narrow, even the best driver has to make do with the line dictated by the cones and gaining/losing time is not an option.

One of the keys to multiple lines is to avoid unnecessary cones. For example, in MOWOG 7, after the right-hander following the slalom, there were no additional cones until the next right-hander at the southeast corner of the parking lot.

Another highlight of MOWOG 7 was the right-left combination leading to the finish line. This is another key area where the driver was faced with the difficult decision of how much of the penultimate left-hander to give up in order to get a straight shot through the finish line.

Given the space limitation of the stadium parking lot, I would prefer to see a 35-second course with wide, multiple lines than a 50-second course with a single, narrow line.

BTW, who designed the MOWOG 7 course?
:)

I'm going to disagree a bit here, if for no other reason than to just offer an alternative opinion.

The reality of MOWOG 7 was that by the middle of the first run group any "real" choice of line was ruined by the amount of debris found just off the majority line. By the end of the day I was forced to succumb to taking everyone else's line just to put in a half-way decent time.

Personally, I think 35 seconds is too short. I found myself wondering where the rest of the course had gone off to at the end of each run. There's plenty of room for a wide 45-50 second course with choices and variety at Midway.